University of South Carolina University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Spring 2019 Bel Canto to Punk and Back: Lessons for the Vocal Cross-Training Bel Canto to Punk and Back: Lessons for the Vocal Cross-Training Singer and Teacher Singer and Teacher Lara C. Wilson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Music Performance Commons Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Wilson, L. C.(2019). Bel Canto to Punk and Back: Lessons for the Vocal Cross-Training Singer and Teacher. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5248 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Transcript
University of South Carolina University of South Carolina
Scholar Commons Scholar Commons
Theses and Dissertations
Spring 2019
Bel Canto to Punk and Back: Lessons for the Vocal Cross-Training Bel Canto to Punk and Back: Lessons for the Vocal Cross-Training
Singer and Teacher Singer and Teacher
Lara C. Wilson
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd
Part of the Music Performance Commons
Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Wilson, L. C.(2019). Bel Canto to Punk and Back: Lessons for the Vocal Cross-Training Singer and Teacher. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5248
This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Figure 2.2: The Pharynx and the Larynx………………………………………… ……35
Figure 4.1: Question 3 - What Musical Styles Do You Perform?........................ ……49
Figure 4.2: Question 7 - How Long Have You Taught CCM/Music Theater Styles?.50
Figure 4.3.1: Question 8 - What Styles of CCM/Music Theater Do YouTeach?........50
Figure 4.3.2: Question 8 - What Styles of CCM/Music Ttereaheater Do You Teach?51
Figure 4.4: Question 13 - What Are the Ages of Your Students?...............................52
1
INTRODUCTION
Cross-training is a method of teaching voice through which classically trained
vocalists learn to sing in more than one style and commercial vocalists learn to perform
classical as well as contemporary and commercial music styles (CCM). It contends that
for a singer to train his or her instrument to be the healthiest and most flexible possible,
he/she needs to learn to sing multiple styles.
The justification for vocal cross-training is multi-leveled. Voice teachers and
students of voice are in a new age of discovery and inevitable change. Students of
classical vocal technique need to broaden their ability to sing alternative styles in order to
thrive in a highly varied and competitive market; performers of music theater are now
required to sing in a multitude of styles. According to Susan Kane, about 30,000 trained
classical singers vie for jobs every day.1 In 2014, Musical America said that of these,
only 2000 were professionally managed.2 Only six percent of current graduates have
management and 94 percent of classical singers are unemployed or underemployed.3
According to Meyer’s 2013 market summary, “looking at only live performance, we find
that 4.5% of the live performance market place appears to be comprised of classical
singers while the remaining 95.5% is comprised of contemporary commercial music
1 Susan Kane, The 21st Century Singer: Making the Leap from the University into the World (New
York: Oxford, 2015), 6. 2 Ibid., 5. 3 Ibid., 5-6.
2
styles.”4
Even for the music theater singer, the ability to cross genres has become imperative.
According to Edrie Means Weekly, “It is important to understand that current musical
theatre productions may encompass blues, country, jazz, rock and even rap all in one
show.”5 Obviously, the need for cross-training exists. The growing consensus is that
teachers of classical voice must learn to accommodate this demand as well. For those
instructors trained in the typical conservatory environment, it is a difficult bridge to cross
and for others, perhaps an insurmountable one. Where does one begin? Is cross-training
possible and can students be successful doing it? Referring to many classically trained
teachers, Robert Edwin states, “Their mantra is, ‘If you learn to sing classically, you can
sing anything, which is equivalent to a tennis instructor saying, if you learn to play tennis,
you can play any sport.’”6 This attitude has slowly changed, so it is time to take the
training a step further to include all styles at once. Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders
Barton suggest that “Looking forward, teachers will feel seriously handicapped if they
lack competency in vernacular techniques and only the rare voice studio will be genre
specific. Let us bid a fond farewell to the antiquated definition of ‘crossover singing’ and
embrace cross training for the next generation of singing actors.”7
The lack of progress in developing multifaceted vocalists has major ramifications.
4 D. Meyer, “The Future of Collegiate Voice Pedagogy: SWOT Analysis of Current Practice-
Implications for the Next Generation of Singers and Teachers of Singing,” 8th International Congress of Voice Teachers (Unpublished Paper Presentation, 2013).
5 Jeannette L. LoVetri, Mary Sounders-Barton and Edrie Means Weekly, “A Brief Overview of Approaches to Teaching the Music Theatre Song,” in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century, ed. By Scott D. Harrison and Jessica O’Bryan (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014), 56.
6 Robert Edwin, “Contemporary Music Theater: Louder Than Words,” Journal of Singing, vol. 61, no. 3 (2005): 291-292.
7 Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders-Barton, Cross-Training in the Voice Studio: A Balancing Act (San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2018), 30.
3
Lucy Green says that in 1997 over 90 percent of global sales of music recordings
consisted of popular music, including traditional forms such as folk and blues, with
classical music making up only 3 or 4 percent.8 Opportunities for classical singers are
dwindling and opera companies have increasingly added music theater to their
performance schedules. In order to continue fostering music education through higher
learning, a different type of vocalist must be embraced. Curriculum and pedagogy
eventually will also have to adjust to teach this non-traditional student. The vast majority
of college music programs in the United States exclude these types of musicians.
Increasing music school enrollment and preparing our students to make a living can only
be accomplished by altering conventional ways of thinking and by developing new
university curriculum and teaching methods to include them.9
Additional research is needed to understand the plausibility and effectiveness of
vocal cross-training. If proven effective, it can help increase college enrollment, give
singers greater marketability and increase the longevity of the vocal instrument. It is the
aim of this document to explore and expound upon specific aspects of current research.
Is vocal cross-training healthy for the singer? If so, what methods offer the most effective
approach? What, if any, are the limitations?
Statement of the Purpose
This dissertation will address specific areas concerning vocal cross-training. The
first section will delve into the history of vocal pedagogy and how it applies to training
students for 21st-century singing. An exploration of how vocal pedagogy has progressed
8 Lucy Green, How Popular Musicians Learn A Way Ahead for Music Education (Burlington:
Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2002), 15. 9 Meyer, “The Future of Collegiate.”
4
over time is essential to unwrapping the prevailing attitudes toward the subject. Next, the
focus will be on CCM pedagogies with the goal of summarizing the latest voice science
and established methods, as well as giving teachers of voice a basic understanding of
stylistic and pedagogical differences. Current research in voice science has helped
teachers of CCM come to some agreement on particular aspects of this pedagogy and
parallels and differences will be evaluated. Finally, the bulk of this research will involve
the observed effects of vocal cross-training.
It is the purpose of this research to show that vocal cross-training is not only
possible but also potentially advantageous for vocal strength and flexibility. Data does
not yet exist to prove this assertion and no studies show how cross-training affects the
vocal muscles either positively or negatively. Research needs to be done to determine the
effectiveness and limitation of this kind of training in regard to the longevity of the
instrument. Can a singer perform a rock concert one night and an opera the next, or does
he/she need time to recover or retrain? Does a singer need to consistently work all
muscles in both styles to be successful? And what constitutes success? A good amount of
literature now addresses the health of singing in CCM styles, but very little data shows
the physical effect on the vocal instrument of the cross-training performer. For these
reasons, one must further the research to find the boundaries and limitations, if they exist.
Need for Study
The current formal academic environment for singers is primarily the classical
music conservatory setting that has been in existence since the 1800’s. In order for this
environment to change, the efficacy of vocal cross-training must be examined. This
research will attempt to discover clear evidence of the value of vocal cross-training and
5
advocate a place for the use of the associated techniques in music school vocal programs.
Possible benefits for students include an opportunity to learn new skills that will enhance
performing ability and potential access to more effective and lucrative careers.
Review of Related Literature
There are a number of books and articles dealing with the history of vocal
pedagogy. J. Stark author of Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy follows the history
of vocal teaching from the bel canto tradition in the late sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries to modern times. His book guides readers through the huge amount of scholarly
work on the subject of classical singing styles.10 J. Potter and N. Sorrell in A History of
Singing have assembled a guide on the development of singing, more specifically, the
growth of opera and changes to vocal production brought about in the early twentieth
century with the development of amplification and sound recording.11 Additionally, J.
Chapman explores the advances in voice science in her book Singing and Teaching
Singing.12
Since the late 1990's, publications on the pedagogy of contemporary commercial
music have been growing in number and a consensus of data has begun to emerge. A very
recent book has been published citing prevailing pedagogy and examining the teaching
methods of twelve prominent scholars of CCM, collected by Matthew Hoch, So You
Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers.13 Scott
10 James Stark, Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy (Toronto: The University of Toronto
Press, 2003). 11 John Potter & Neil Sorrell, A History of Singing (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2012). 12 Janice Chapman, Singing and Teaching Singing (San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2006). 13 Matthew Hoch, So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for
Performers, edited by Matthew Hoch (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
6
D. Harrison and Jessica OBryan compile essays from a variety of different vocal
pedagogues exploring CCM, extra-normal voices, approach to style and the future of
vocal training in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century.14 A third work from Australia
edited by Scott Harrison has essays on a variety of current pedagogical viewpoints,
including training the music theater singer and many other styles of CCM singers, called
Perspectives on Teaching Singing: Australian Vocal Pedagogues Sing Their Stories.15
Both Joe Estill and Jeanette LoVetri have published numerous articles on vocal pedagogy
covering multiple styles.16 Finally, a new book has just been published by Pennsylvania
State University faculty members Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders Barton addressing
the methods and success of vocal cross-training in music theater and classical styles:
Cross-Training in the Voice Studio: A Balancing Act seems to be the first of its kind.17
Design and Procedures
To begin this study, an historiographical outline of vocal pedagogy will be
presented focusing on works that discuss vocal teaching over the past two to four hundred
years. The articles and publications of current CCM pedagogues will be reviewed to
ascertain the common and conflicting elements in their teaching and data will then be
collected from eight master vocal pedagogues of classical and contemporary commercial
music through written interviews focusing on the use of vocal cross training. Responses
will be evaluated to determine the prevalence of vocal cross-training as well as to
14 Scott D. Harrison and Jessica O’Bryan, Teaching Singing in the 21st Century (Dordrecht:
Springer, 2014). 15 Scott D. Harrison, Perspectives on Teaching Singing: Australian Vocal Pedagogues Sing Their
Stories (Bowen Hills: Australian Academic Press, 2010). 16 Jeannette L. LoVetri, “A Brief Overview of Approaches to Teaching the Music Theatre Song,”
in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century, ed. by J. O. Scott and D. Harrison (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014), 56. 17
7
understand successes and struggles observed by teachers and students of this kind of
vocal technique.
8
CHAPTER 1: THE EVOLUTION OF SINGING AND VOCAL PEDAGOGY
In order to understand the present state of the art of singing, one must first
understand the past. The history of singing can be traced back to antiquity. The
progression of what we think of today as a “classical” style of singing has a long history.
Toward the end of the sixteenth century, a group of music scholars and artist intellectuals
calling themselves the Florentine Camerata, met frequently and put into motion the idea
of the secular musical drama. The Camerata’s goal was to recreate the form of the ancient
Greeks. For the first time singers learned the skills of stage movement, acting and solo
singing simultaneously in a secular setting beyond the great courts of Europe. What
began as a cappella monody sung in a church setting, became musically accompanied
solo lines performed in a public theater.18
While the performance venue and productions were new, the creation of solo
singing was not. “The reimagining of polyphony as solo song had been part of the
singer’s skill set for perhaps a hundred years before composers began to write what we
now recognize as monodies… from a technical point of view the vocal delivery cannot
have been very different.”19 Before the era of designated opera houses, both in Italy and
other parts of Europe, singers were hired as courtiers for aristocratic families. In this
setting, they were expected to have a large range of skills, including dance, in order to
18 James Potter and Neil Sorrell, A History of Singing (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2012), 84. 19 Ibid.
9
produce complicated dramatic works for their employers.20 In 1589 at the wedding of
Ferdinando de Medici and Christine de Lorraine in Florence, Italy, one such extravagant
performance occurred, lasting over a month. Singers staged intermedi or interludes
between the acts of Girolamo Bargagli’s play La Pellegrina. The event was much more
elaborate than the first opera would prove to be and included musicians, singers, dancers,
actors, painters, costume and set designers and engineers from across Italy.21 The work,
lasting over seven hours, included singers descending from clouds, flying across the sky,
with dragons and the smoking chimneys of Pisa along with thirty-part polyphony.22 The
vocal lines were not always written down and contained extravagant improvisation.
It was from this type of performance that the “old Italian school of singing
grew.”23 Thus, with the early sixteenth century the popularity of the intermedi and the
castrati increased, giving rise to the first vocal pedagogues, or teachers of singing.
Among the most famous of the day were Giovanni Battista Bovicelli and Giulio Caccini.
In 1594 Bovicelli published Regole di Musica and Madrgali e Motetti Passaggiati.
Caccini published Nuove Musiche in 1601. Both singing teachers were renowned,
espousing precise intonation, pure vowels and legato or smooth lines.24 They also agreed
that working in the middle of the voice, at medium volumes without the use of force was
the optimal path toward vocal control. In addition, the use of esclamazio or crescendo,
diminuendo was seen as the optimal way to learn breath control.25 Caccini also
recognized two distinct registers in both male and female voices, with the middle voice
20 Ibid. 21 Ibid., 85. 22 Ibid. 23 James Stark, Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy (Toronto: The University of Toronto
Press, 2003), 196. 24 W. J. Henderson, Early History of Singing (New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1921), 106-107. 25 Ibid., 108-109.
10
included in the chest voice. According to W. J. Henderson: “It is therefore more precise
to speak of Caccini’s two registers as natural and head. These he allowed to women,
falsetto and boys. Male voices were to use only natural and not the head tones.”26
The Florentine Camerata in their desire to further heighten the role of the solo
voice, introduced an age of vocal discovery, in which the virtuosic singers were given the
greatest opportunities. Additionally, the Camerata longed to replicate the Greek
amphitheaters of antiquity and determined the best place for the orchestra was in front of
the singers. This increased the distance between stage and audience and thus the need for
greater vocal projection.27
Best exemplifying these amphitheaters of antiquity was the first public opera
house, San Cassiano, which opened in Venice in 1637. Public opera houses with larger
orchestras meant singers needed even greater strength and flexibility to project. As a
result of the opera’s popularity, the frequency of productions increased. By the end of the
seventeenth century the new opera house in Venice had produced more than 350 operas.
Nine houses opened during this period and by the last two decades of the 1600s, six
different troupes performed in the city for twelve to thirty weeks out of the year.28
Composers were commissioned to write for individual theaters each season and as a
result, for specific singers. Only occasionally would an opera be performed in a different
city, and the composer would rework the score to suit a new opera house and its singers.29
26 Ibid., 112-113. 27 John Koopman, “A Brief History of Singing: Opera Develops” (Retrieved January 1, 1999),
Web site: https://www2.lawrence.edu/fast/KOOPMAJO/brief.html 28 Donald Grout and Hermine Williams, A Short History of Opera (New York: Columbia
University Press, 2003), 83-84. 29 John Koopman, “A Brief History of Singing: Opera Develops” (Retrieved January 1, 1999),
Web site: https://www2.lawrence.edu/fast/KOOPMAJO/brief.html
11
Audiences frequently attended just to hear a new aria sung by the next greatest castrato.30
During this period, the popularity of Italian singing took hold all over Europe and
pedagogical works were needed to teach amateurs, professional singers and new singing
teachers the most modern stylistic and technical secrets of the day.31 Toward the end of
the seventeenth century another prominent voice teacher, Signor Giamberti Romano was
among the first to write on vocal classification. In his singing exercises Duo Tessuti con
diversi solfessiamenti, schrzi etc. of 1689, he distinguished between high and low altos
(tenors being low alto) and baritones from basses. The range of the tenor was extended in
this period to B flat 4 and sopranos to C6.32
Many of the famous castrati of the day opened their own music schools or took on
apprentices.33 In 1723 Bologna, castrato Pier Francesco Tosi published his Opinioni
de’cantori antichi e moderni, the first comprehensive work on vocal pedagogy. In 1743
composer John Galliard translated Tosi’s work as Observations on the Florid Song, or
Sentiments on the Ancient and Modern Singers.34 Tosi’s writing was particularly relevant
in London and later to composer George Frederic Handel and continued to be used in
Europe throughout much of the following century. Tosi first sent his singers to low level
teachers to learn solfeggi or sight singing as well as proper posture and pure vowels.35
This training continued in the learning of vocalizzi that included the concepts of messa di
voce, perhaps a continuation of Caccini’s esclamazione and portamento, enabling the
30 Ibid. 31 Potter and Sorrell, History of Singing, 90. 32 Henderson, Early History of Singing, 124-125. 33 Potter and Sorrell, History of Singing, 90. 34 Pier Francesco Tosi, Observations on the Florid Song; or Sentiments on the Ancient and
Modern Singers. Trans. By J. Galliard (London: J. Wilcox, 1743). 35 Ibid., 11.
12
singer control of his breath and throat or larynx.36
By the end of the seventeenth century, opera voices were primarily soprano and
alto, both male and female, with a few tenors. The bass voice was rarely used except in
“operas of buffa or demi-caratere type.”37 All singers during this period were expected to
have complete control over ornamentation and coloratura, but none were yet singing at
full dynamics or extreme ranges as would later nineteenth and early twentieth century
performers. Patrons came to hear the creativity in the singer’s improvisation and were not
disappointed. This skill was developed with faithful practice, according to Tosi, by
learning to do various ornamentations spontaneously and effortlessly.38
The beginning of the eighteenth century saw the evolution of a new form, opera
seria, established by the works of Alessandro Scarlatti, Jean-Philippe Rameau and
George Frederic Handel. Adhering to the Doctrine of the Affections, a Baroque theory of
musical aesthetics embracing the idea that music could evoke specific emotions, Italian
composers in particular, developed a style expanding the range of emotions displayed by
the solo voice.39 Arias and recitatives (accompanied and unaccompanied) were
interwoven with greater ease. This aesthetic gave rise not only to a specific list of
characters within an opera, but also to a system of hierarchy where both resident and
visiting artists filled particular roles. Frequently the prima donna soprano or leading
heroine and the seconda donna, often an alto playing the confidant or nemesis, were
accompanied by the primo uomo played by a castrati (newly termed musico) and a
secondo uomo or bass filling the role of villain, priest or nobleman. These singers were
36 Potter and Sorrell, History of Singing, 93-94. 37 Henderson, Early History of Singing, 163. 38 Potter and Sorrell, History of Singing, 94. 39 Grout and Williams, A Short History of Opera, 166-167.
13
now brought in frequently from Italy at huge expense and were accompanied by local
artists in the comprimari or secondary roles.40 It is important to emphasize that acting at
this point was far secondary to vocal improvisation. Gestures were “stock poses” and
placement on the stage had more to do with a singer’s importance than dramatic intent.41
Soon opera seria itself was eclipsed by the famous singers of the day.
Customarily, performers exited the stage following arias, re-entered to applause and then
delivered an encore that used even more impressive and extravagant ornamentation. The
newly called musici, formerly castrati, especially held sway over the public and were as
popular in their time as the pop singer of today:
“Their fame and fortune was so alluring it became the dream of many poor families that their son might help them escape poverty through such a career. Riding the crest of public adulation, it seems the musici should have little fear for their future. Yet in reality their fabulous FIORITURA displays were becoming excessive and badly slowing the movement of the already meager drama. The restless public would soon find the light, comic interludes (intermezzi) performed between the acts of the serious operas--like half-time shows in modern day sporting events--were more to their liking than the main event.”42
Previously, singers and composers had worked in tandem, adding embellishments
in the da capo of arias as well as in the cadenzas. This balance began to shift when
singers “were adding embellishments everywhere, lengthening works intolerably and
displaying their personal skills at the expense of the drama and music. The singer’s abuse
of their ornamentation prerogatives had made opera seria little more than a concert in
costume and a vehicle for a self-serving star system.”43 It is said that by the end of the
eighteenth century, “…the insatiable appetite of the hearer for sensuous amusement soon
stripped the royal robes from this priestly art…It was but an empty toy, a specious
imitation of the classic drama, and in a few short years it became a mere parade ground
for arrogant and pampered performers, prestidigitators of scales and jugglers of trills.”44
Eventually, the influence of comic opera with its origins in the Commedia dell’arte,
found its way into opera seria. In addition, the “philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment
could not condone the cruelty and artifice surrounding the castrati.”45 These new ideals,
grounded in reason, had an effect on many aspects of the opera performance including
the decreased use of singer composed embellishments. Additionally, the chorus returned
to the genre by the end of the Baroque era, as did small ensembles and more folk-like
arias. The tenor began to find a role as the lover and the bass became the master of the
patter song. In addition, changes began to occur in orchestras, with increased forces and
the introductions of horns.46
While many deviations arose in composition and performance from country to
country, the basics of good singing did not stray too far from Tosi’s original treatise. In
fact, Tosi’s ideas remained relevant up until the beginning of the nineteenth century.47
Some changes did occur in the education of singers, however. The master-apprentice
model that began in the seventeenth century began to evolve, as did the private Italian
conservatori. With the opening of the Paris Conservatoire in 1795, the teaching of
singing became formalized and state-run for the first time.48 While the castrati were
increasingly unpopular, especially in France, they were still in demand to teach and
publish materials for the Conservatoire and up until the 19th century the musici were
employed in opera seria though not in opera buffa. The comic forms of opera led
44 Henderson, Early History of Singing, 163. 45 Stark, Bel Canto,199. 46 Grout and Williams, A Short History, 168, 172. 47 Potter and Sorrell, History of Singing, 98. 48 Ibid., 104.
15
to a fading out of the musici.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century, these changes culminated in a
reformation of opera seria and in turn an increase in the prominence of the composer.
Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787) led the way stating, “I have tried to restrict
music to its true function of aiding poetry in the expression of the emotions and the
situations of the story, without interrupting the action or smothering it under vain and
superfluous ornaments.”49 Consequently, ornamentation began to be written down rather
than improvised and decreased in importance as the drama began to increase in stature.
Singers of opera seria learned the importance of becoming better actors, which was
something their opera comedia colleagues had already discovered. No longer was the
singer able to improvise at will; gone too were works written expressly for the individual
singer. Operas themselves gained the interest of the public and the presence of a
conductor turned out to be essential when certain popular works were repeated and the
composer himself was unable to attend a performance.50
The period from the late eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth was
rife with change. Post-revolutionary France became the center of new operatic works, as
well as the place to premiere operas from other countries.51 During this time, the
orchestra began to take on a more prominent role, as did the soprano and tenor voice.
Even the mezzo soprano and contralto became important during this period with a
realization that good singing was more than immense speed and endless high notes.52
Italian opera buffa spread in popularity and similar forms, singspiel, opera
49 Potter and Sorrell, History of Singing, 104. 50 Koopman, “A Brief History.” 51 Potter and Sorrell, History of Singing, 109. 52 Ibid., 110.
16
comique and zarzuela, became fashionable in their respective countries. In England the
ballade opera stressed folk song and parodied the opera seria. In its use of native
languages, natural speech and characters, as well as the elevation of the composition, this
tradition became the precursor to operetta and eventually music theater. The operettas of
Gilbert and Sullivan, Offenbach and Johan Strauss Jr. became a prevalent and popular
style, emphasizing spoken rather than sung dialogue, humor and pleasant endings,
making opera more appealing to everyday people. Gluck’s attempted revival of opera
seria did not last long and with the death of Mozart, disappeared.
Many new concepts of vocal pedagogy were introduced and elaborated upon
during this period as well. As early as 1774 Giambastista Mancini termed the word
chiaroscuro, or both brightness and darkness of tone, as the most sought after vocal
sound. He also began emphasizing the control of the breath as optimal singing technique.
Manuel Garcia II (1805-1906), son of the famous singer Manuel Garcia I, observed the
vocal instrument in a new scientific way, looking for the “why” of the singing voice. He
began vocal instruction with his father, learning the ways of the old Italian school and the
castrati.53 Forced to stop singing at a young age due to vocal problems, he began working
in military hospitals where he studied the larynges of throat wound victims. Garcia’s
interest in the function of the voice led him to teach his sisters Pauline Viardot and Maria
Malibran, both mezzo sopranos, who became famous singers under his tutelage. In 1835
Garcia II received an appointment as Professor to the Paris Conservatoire and in 1840
published his Memoire sur la voix humaine that later became a portion of the Ecole de
Garcia: Traite complet de l’art du chant.54 Garcia II was the first to use mirrors to
53 Stark, Bel Canto, 4. 54 Ibid.
17
observe the movements of his own larynx and was credited with inventing the
laryngoscope. He observed the ascent and descent of the mechanism as it traversed from
falsetto to chest voice. During his study, he observed that the falsetto voice expended
more air than the chest voice when singing the same note. He also proposed that the head
and falsetto voices were one in the same.55 In addition, Garcia II developed the technique
he referred to as the Coup de la glotte, or what we might call today a firm glottal onset, to
produce a clean clear sound.56 We translate the word coup today as attack, but his
intention was really closure or caress. In his day this was a source of extreme controversy
and interpreted to be an explosion or shock in the voice.57 He was attempting to say the
glottis remained pinched throughout the tone, not just at its initiation.58 Garcia II too
taught the concept of chiaroscuro (though did not use this terminology) in the ability to
modify the vocal tract and glottal closure to affect sound, and to a lesser degree, breath
control.
The singing style of the eighteenth century, coupled with the music of Viennese
Classicism focusing on “clarity and restraint,” was eclipsed by the expanding size of the
orchestra and a new focus on amplitude in the nineteenth century.59 Critics and scholars
had a difficult time accepting the transition from the agility of the bel canto to the power
characterizing the new style. For the first time singers had to choose between vocal
styles, becoming specialists in one area or the other. Many thought the voice therefore,
was ruined; even Garcia II lamented the disappearance of the castrati, the decline of the
55 Stephen F. Austin, “Notes on Garcia’s Memoir of the Human Voice,” Journal of Singing, vol.
florid style, and the tendency of composers to simplify the role of the voice and to rely
more and more upon orchestral effect, saying, “singing is becoming as much a lost art as
the manufacture of Mandarin china or the varnish used by the old [violin] masters.”60
In the latter part of the nineteenth century this new romantic compositional style
led to larger opera houses (La Scala and San Carlo seated 3000 and 3500 respectively)
and orchestras (La Scala had a 50-player string section) playing from the pit in the
direction of the audience instead of toward the stage. As a reaction to larger opera houses
and orchestras a new pedagogical school came into popularity geared toward a more
dramatic vocal production.
Garcia II was among the first to understand that laryngeal position could affect
sound. A bright tone was achieved with a higher larynx while a lower larynx and high
palate could create a darker, more somber timbre. In male voices this enabled the singer
to utilize the falsetto less and create extra resonance.61 Today we recognize this
phenomenon as the singer’s formant. Its discovery allowed singers to be heard over an
orchestra and accommodated the new aesthetic of romanticism. Tenors, no longer taught
by castrati but by other tenors, discovered the ability to use their chest voices in the
upper register, rather than just falsetto and had higher notes added to their repertoire.
Many singers began to train for power rather than agility and used vibrato consistently
instead of straight tone.62
In addition to Manuel Garcia II, other vocal pedagogues began to gain
prominence. Heinrich Panofka, who himself was not a singer but a composer, violinist
60 Stark, Bel Canto, 15. 61 Potter and Sorrell, A History of Singing, 126-127. 62 Koopman, “A Brief History.”
19
and critic, published two works for the Paris Conservatoire in 1854:L’Art de Chanter and
Vade-Mecum du Chanteur. Like Garcia, his approach was scientific depicting drawings
of the vocal instrument accompanied by descriptions of vocal function.63 He emphasized
the development of muscles, rather than the learning of improvisation. Another
Conservatoire professor, Alexis de Garaudé, wrote prodigiously on vocal pedagogy. His
1826 Méthode de chant joined Garcia’s as one of the first works focusing on the science
of the voice, specifically it’s acoustics.
While Garcia II’s teaching functioned well for the music of Mozart and Rossini,
additional techniques were needed to facilitate this new dramatic style. Francesco
Lamperti was one such pedagogue, understanding that control of breath could assist the
singer in making a more powerful tone. Francesco Lamperti in The Art of Singing of
1884, espoused diaphragmatic breathing and control of exhalation.64 In citing Dr. Louis
Mandl’s Hygiène de la voix, he was the first to describe the “vocal struggle” or lute
vocale, the juxtaposition of respiration and the muscles of exhalation and the balance
required for singing. Lamperti advocated breathing that engaged the diaphragm with the
intake of a large breath with the belly extended. He also originated the idea of breath
control using the example of the flame that does not flicker, emphasizing control of the
abdominal muscles.65 Other phrases can be attributed to Lamperti: the idea of appoggio,
“using a column of air” and “drinking in the tone.”66 Concurrently, Hermann Helmholtz,
in On the Sensation of Tone, was the first to describe what we today call the source-filter
63 Potter and Sorrell, History of Singing, 121. 64 Stark, Bel Canto, 100-101. 65 Giovanni Battista Lamperti, The Technics of Bel Canto (New York: G. Schirmer 1905), 14. 66 Lamperti, The Technics of Bel, 14.
20
theory of tone production.67 Additionally, Francesco Lamperti’s son Giovanni Lamperti
contributed to his father’s teaching by including the intercostal muscles of the ribcage in
breath control and focusing his teaching on the use and control of subglottal pressure.68
He believed that it was more difficult to hold breath back than to let it out, making
pianissimo singing harder than loud singing.69
The culmination of these ideas helped train performers singing the compositions
of Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi. Wagner’s musical dramas or Gesamtkunstwerk
rendered singing an extension of drama, and with the orchestra, an extension of dramatic
intent. These works were long, requiring singing over extended stretches of time with
hugely expanded orchestral forces. In turn, Verdi’s compositions were intended almost
exclusively for the dramatic voice and singing actor. This type of composition extended
into the early 20th century with the operas of Richard Strauss, whose works were written
for up to 121 instruments, as opposed to the standard 45-50 piece orchestras of the late
eighteenth century.
Other forms of vocal music, like art-song, became popular in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries. Written especially with the emerging middle class of Germany
and France in mind, the lied and chanson were accessible vocal forms for amateur
singers. Intimate works for piano and voice, they were often enjoyed in the home and
salon but made their way to public venues, sung by professional singers, by the later
1800’s. Another popular form of vocal entertainment that had its roots in 15th century
French wine cellars and taverns, was cabaret. Two forms of “artistic cabaret” emerged:
67 Herman Helmholtz, On the Sensation of Tone: As a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music
2nd ed., trans. by A. J. Ellis (New York: Dover, 1954), 8. 68 Stark, Bel Canto, 105. 69 Ibid.
21
“cabaret as a meeting place for artists where performance or improvisation takes place
among peers, and cabaret as an intimate, small-scale, but intellectually ambitious
revue.”70
Important technological developments also emerged. The phonograph, the first
machine capable of recording and playing back sound, was invented by Thomas Edison
in 1877. In the early 1900’s the phonograph went from being a purely novel and
expensive item, to being an affordable device for home use. In the same year, Emile
Berliner patented the carbon-button microphone. The US Supreme Court in 1892
overruled Berliner’s patent however and awarded it to Thomas Edison. Chris Latham
writes:
“Over the last 300 years the trend has been to increase the number of musicians on stage to create a larger sound and a more encompassing emotional effect for the listener. The increased cost of musicians required a larger audience to support the outlay, so auditoriums increased proportionally. In response to increased volume, orchestra sizes evolved from baroque string bands with winds and occasional brass, to the ‘double wind’ classical orchestra, to the romantic ‘triple wind’ orchestra, to the ‘quadruple wind’ modern symphony. However, just over 100 years ago, an instrument was invented that would subvert all of this. The beginning of the 20th century ushered in the modern piano, the marimba and vibraphone (which John Deagan would build at the urging of Percy Grainger) but these were dwarfed by an instrument that would utterly transform the music world – the microphone. We are still coming to terms with its impact.”71
As a result, these technological advancements changed the singing world forever.
Up to this point the discussion has been about the history of western classical
music. What has not been taken into account however, is the simultaneous development
of alternate styles of singing in other parts of the world that were germinating in North
70 Lisa Appignanesi, The Cabaret, 4th edition (New Haven & London: Yale University Press,
2004), 1. 71 Chris Latham, “Limelight,” November 15, 2015,
America. The American Academy of Teachers of Singing in 2008 pointed out that early
native Americans, African slaves and settlers from all over the world make up today’s
United States and were central to the development of popular styles in America, and thus
popular styles of singing.72 The talkies of the 1920’s gave the general public greater
exposure to voices of opera, country, jazz and Broadway and before the extended use of
amplification in the 1930’s, divided singers into different types: “Those singers were
called “legitimate” (a.k.a. legit or real) singers and “belters.” Legit singers often were
those who had received classical vocal training and could sing over an orchestra without
strain; those who could project their voices in a kind of energized declarative speech were
the belters.”73 By the 1930’s with the wide-spread use of amplification, came the voice of
the crooner.74 This type of singer no longer needed to project the same way as the
classical singer and could use a much softer, more intimate sound. The music of swing,
bee-bop and songs with Latin influenced rhythms all invaded the airways and Broadway
shows were in abundance. According to Sigmund Spaeth in 1943:
“Oklahoma! Did something for the musical stage that not even Show Boat or Of Thee I Sing had accomplished. It proved that a perfectly straightforward combination of words and music, dealing with honestly American characters and situations, could actually interpret the spirit of this country to its own citizens. It brought a new dignity and prestige to a business that sadly needed both, and it almost eliminated the traditional dividing line between “popular” and “classical” music.”75
While this style of music may have united the listening public, the same cannot be
said of the classical and contemporary world of singers and voice teachers. In 1950 at the
age of 96 George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Prize winning author, theater and music critic,
72 American Academy of Teachers of Singing, “NATS Visits AATS.” Journal of Singing, vol. 65,
no.1 (September/October 2008): 7-10. 73 Ibid. 74 Ibid. 75 Sigmund Spaeth, Popular Music in America (New York: Random House, 1948), 543.
23
expressed the sentiment of some saying, “The notion that singing has deteriorated in the
present century is only a phase of the Good Old Times delusion…. Every musical period
suffers from the illusion that it has lost the art of singing, and looks back to an imaginary
golden age in which all singers had the secret of the bel canto taught by Italian magicians
and practiced in excelsis at the Great Opera Houses of Europe.”76 This fitting quote could
have as easily been said in 1850 as 1950 or today in 2019. With each passing decade the
days of old are lamented but the realities of the present cannot be denied.
76 George Bernard Shaw, “How to Become a Music Critic,” Music in London: 1890-1894, ed. by
Dan H. Davis (London: Constable and Company, 1960), 99.
24
CHAPTER 2: WHAT CCM PEDAGOGUES DO AND DO NOT AGREE UPON
Change is hard and the battle for legitimacy between “popular” and “classical”
music continues in some circles. That said, popular music has existed for centuries. As
Arnold Weinstein states in his essay What is Cabaret Song, “the courtly and popular were
blended as early as the 15th century and wandered along with the chansonniers through
the Renaissance”77 Opera of the seventeenth and eighteenth century was considered a
form of popular music at the time. In his introduction to the Encyclopedia of Popular
Music in 2006, Colin Larkin wrote:
The ultimate intention of this work is once and for all to place popular music shoulder to shoulder with classical and operatic music. It is a legitimate plea for acceptance and tolerance. Popular music is now not only worthy of serious documentation, it is worthy of the acceptance of serious documentation. Pop, rock, and jazz have been brilliantly written about with passion, knowledge, and relevance.78
This plea for legitimacy has come from teachers of contemporary singing as well.
In 1985 the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) board member Robert
Edwin asked “Since rock and pop music will not go away, nor people's urge to sing it,
shouldn’t we as well informed and well equipped singing teachers lend our expertise to
help increase the number of thrivers and survivors and to diminish the number of
failures?”79 This was his first of many articles in Edwin’s Bach to Rock Connection. That
77William Bolcom. Preface: Cabaret Songs Volume 1 and 2 (Milwaukee, WI: Edward B. Marks
Company, 1979 & 1985), i. 78 Collins Larkin, The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 1. 79 Robert Edwin, “Bach to Rock Connections: Are We the National Association of Teachers of
Classical Singing?” The Journal of Singing, vol. 41, no. 5 (May/June,1985): 40.
25
said, this question wasn’t asked publicly until 1985. At the time, most vocal pedagogues
remained entrenched in the teaching of classical music techniques and were largely
unwilling or unable to teach popular styles, or what they termed “non-classical.” Today
in 2019, attitudes and techniques have begun to change and evolve, legitimizing the
teaching of “CCM” or Contemporary Commercial Music as it was coined by pioneer
pedagogue Jeanette LoVetri. Jessica Bryan and Scott Harrison concur, stating “The
physiology of the singing voice has not changed since those first treatises 500 years ago,
although musical styles have markedly changed.”80 With these new musical styles comes
an imperative need to understand how the voice works to create them.
Consequently, advances in science have greatly increased knowledge in the
physiology of vocal function. What began with Manuel Garcia II’s development of the
laryngoscope in 1855, proceeding to William Vennard’s 1967 work in, Singing: The
Mechanism and the Technique,81 facilitating a team approach between singers and voice
scientists, has culminated more recently in Janice Chapman’s scientific method to
teaching in Singing and Teaching Singing82 as well as Wendy LeBorgne and Michael
DeLeo’s The Vocal Athlete.83 Each is a voice-science based book addressing the
pedagogy of both classical and contemporary styles. Subsequently, the advances in voice
science have greatly changed attitudes toward CCM pedagogy. There seems to be a
consensus in the areas of vocal technique that need to be addressed by teachers of CCM,
regardless of style.
80 Scott D. Harrison and Jessica O’Bryan, Teaching Singing in the 21st Century (Dordrecht:
Springer, 2014), 5. 81William Vennard, Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic (Carl Fischer, L.L.C., 1967). 82Janice Chapman, Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice (San
Diego: Plural Publishing, 2006). 83 Wendy Le Borgnand, Marci Daniels, De Leo Rosenberg, The Vocal Athlete (San Diego: Plural
Publishing, 2014), EBSCO Host.
26
Professor Sarah Wigley, a proponent for cross-training, states four different areas:
1. When executed correctly, a healthy, free sound and vocal production is the homeostasis for all styles of singing.
2. The body is fully engaged and energized, free from facial/overall tension 3. Breath (the power source) is optimally supported 4. No excess weight or thickness in the vocal folds nor excess pressure of the larynx
is present.84 Pedagogue Lisa Popeil also addresses concepts all singers should understand, including
“…posture, support, breathing, precise control of vocal registers, finding one’s highest
vertical laryngeal heights and pharyngeal widths, explaining the meaning of resonance,
and showing ‘three bands:’ ring, nasality and brightness.”85 These themes continually
appear when examining the writings of established CCM pedagogues. Irene Barton
states, “…I adhere to the approach where good singing is good singing and bad singing is
bad singing-regardless of style! In other words, alignment, breath flow, support, and
resonance form the foundation for all skilled vocalization regardless of style or genre of
singing.”86
The differences then lie in the sound the singer is trying to achieve. CCM expert
Mark Meylan states “It’s ultimately about understanding the final product and what the
performer wants that to be and then backtracking through the vocal system in order to
achieve this: examining the style in terms of resonance, phonation, airflow, and air
pressure and then deciding what this sound needs and how to enable the performer to
84 Sarah Wigley, “Crossing Over: Contemporary, Accessible Voice Techniques for Solo and
Ensemble Singing,” Illinois Music Educator, vol. 79, no. 2 (Winter, 2018): 1. 85 Lisa Popeil, “Lisa Popeil,” in So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A
Guide for Performers, ed. Matthew Hoch (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), 3286. The name of the article is the same as the name of the author? Just checking.
86 Irene Bartlett, “Irene Bartlett,” in So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers, ed. Matthew Hoch (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), 1985.
27
produce it.”87 The development and subsequent demand of popular styles have come
about for a number of reasons and have affected singers and the sounds they are asked to
produce. Among these advances are belting, followed by recorded voice and amplified
voice. As a result of amplification, the opportunity to craft a more speech-like vocal
production becomes possible. This in turn frees up singers of CCM to be able to move
their bodies in ways not available to the classical singer. It also increases the pressure on
singers of music theater in particular, to develop high level skills in acting, dancing, as
well as dancing and singing simultaneously.
Because of these demands, the need for commercial pedagogy has become an
imperative. Substantial progress has been made, leading today’s CCM pedagogues to
develop techniques to accommodate new realities. This research will examine and
compare some of the most fundamental technical areas, delving into what is currently
agreed upon and what needs additional research and coherence. It will also examine the
vocal adjustments necessary to achieve authentic contemporary styles in the areas of
breathing, registration/phonation and resonance or as Jo Estill early on termed it: Power,
Source and Filter.88 Finally the understanding of styles in conjunction with the teaching
of technique will be considered.
Breathing
The discussion of breath as it relates to singing, is multifaceted. In classical
singing, breath management, among other elements, is essential to create a powerful,
87 Mark Meylan, “Mark Meylan,” in So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial
Music): A Guide for Performers, ed. Matthew Hoch (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), 3061.
88 Kimberly Steinhauer, Mary McDonald Klimek and Jo Estill, The Estill Voice Model: Theory and Translation (Pittsburgh, PA: Estill Voice International, 2017), 25.
28
balanced, non-amplified sound. Breathing is no less important for singers of CCM but
adjustments may be needed to best serve alternate styles. First belting and respiration will
be explored. Many studies have been done involving classical singers and breathing but
far fewer with commercial singers. The limited research on this topic in the area of CCM
will be reviewed.
In Estill Voice Training, belting is explained as one of six qualities the human
voice is capable of making. While it seems belting requires a huge amount of breath
energy, according to the Estill Method, the opposite is actually true and the physiology
can be explained like this:
The defining feature is the Tilted Cricoid Cartilage, which creates a Thicker TVF: Body-Cover. This allows for a very long closed phase (>70% of each cycle), with an increase in subglottal air pressure during the closed phase that leads to high amplitude sound waves…A deep abdominal breath will pull the larynx down and undo this preparation. Increased respiratory drive will undermine this quality’s efficiency by:
• Blowing the TVF’s apart and shortening the closed phase • Triggering compensatory FVF (False Vocal Fold) Constriction in attempt
to restore the long closed phase 89
Jo Estill states, “If you keep the folds closed a large part of every cycle to get a very loud
tone, the breath will be stopped at the larynx below the folds and the pressure will build
to high levels and there is no need to push a great deal of air to make this loud sound.”90
In a 2015 study on belting and respiration, researchers ”… hypothesized that in belt
compared with a neutral style of singing…”:
1. Rib cage rather than abdominal wall expansion dominates inhalation 2. High lung volumes are avoided 3. Belly-in posture during phrases is typical
89 Jo Estill, Estill Voice Training: Level Two Figure Combinations for Six Voice Qualities
Workbook, ed. Mary McDonald Klimek with Kerrie Obert & Kimberley Steinhauer (Estill Voice Training Systems International, LLC, 2005), 66.
90 Ibid., 108.
29
4. An elevated degree of glottal adduction is used 91
Their conclusion is that only number (4) could be confirmed. “Thus, belt does not seem
to differ from a more neutral type of singing with respect to breathing strategy, but rather
with respect to subglottal pressure, phonation, and articulation characteristics.”92 It can be
concluded that both this study and the Estill method agree on the closed quotient part of
the equation. The breath management portion is still undecided with respect to belting.
Other strategies of breathing and their effect on CCM are important to examine.
In an earlier 1996 study on the breathing patterns of professional country singers, it was
found that these singers used breathing strategies closer to speaking than singing.93 When
comparing this breathing to classical singers, it has been shown they use a much different
breath strategy singing than speaking. While speaking, one isn’t conscious of breath and
less breath is needed. Movement also tends to be higher in the body, closer to clavicular
breathing. In classical singing, the singer consciously avoids clavicular breaths and
focuses on strategic management of breath. While many country music performers have
little instruction in breathing technique, it is possible to conclude that this style of singing
is speech-based and different strategies are employed.94 CCM Pedagogue Kim Chandler
agrees with this assumption saying that while classical singing requires long legato lines,
popular music adheres more to vernacular or speech like patterns.95 The conclusion then
is one would breathe more like he or she talks when singing many popular styles
A 2017 study set out to understand the breathing strategies of singers, dancers and
91 Johan Sundberg and Margareta Thalén, “Respiratory and Acoustical Differences Between Belt
and Neutral Style of Singing,” Journal of Voice, vol. 29, is. 4 (July 1, 2015): 418-425. 92 Ibid. 93 J. Hoit, et al., “Respiratory Function During Speaking and Singing in Professional Country
Singers,” Journal of Voice, vol. 10, no. 1 (1996): 39-49. 94 Ibid. 95 Kim Chandler, “Teaching Popular Music Styles,” in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century, ed.
by Scott D Harrison and Jessica O’Bryan (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014), 38.
30
singing dancers, specifically ones performing music theater. “Scores were taken of
maximum phonation time (MPT), relative oxygen uptake and heart rate immediately after
three tasks: (1) singing only, (2) dancing only, and (3) singing while dancing.” Singers
were also scored on their ability to sing long passages or notes without stopping, both
before and after performing.96 Maximum phonation time is associated with some voice
disorders, but evidence of dysfunction, due to increased physical activity, has not been
previously studied. For singers, problems can arise when there is a lack of balance
between respiration and vocal fold function and can lead to an increased flow of air and
worsening breath efficiency.97 The study clearly shows that the MPT (maximum
phonation time) is drastically reduced when singing and dancing or just dancing, as
compared with static singing. Also, the participants bring with them no particular
strategies to accommodate both singing and dancing simultaneously and the study
concludes that proper training could impact results. While the findings were inconclusive,
the door has been opened to further research.98
All of these studies challenge assumptions when comparing the breathing
strategies employed in classical and commercial styles. In conclusion, important
differences in approach need to be considered when instructing students and most
teachers of CCM seem to be in agreement with these differences.
Registration/Phonation
With the rise of amplification and new speech based musical styles, composers began
96 Tommi Sliiden, Sara Beck and Ian MacDonald, “An Evaluation of the Breathing Strategies and
Maximum Phonation Time in Musical Theater Performers During Controlled Performance Tasks,” Journal of Voice, v. 31, no. 2 (March 12017): 253.e1-253.e11.
97 Ibid. 98 Ibid.
31
writing in reduced vocal ranges in order to make words more easily understood. Dramatic
characterization also become more realistic and expression began to take precedence over
sound.99 This approach minimized the multiple vocal registers or breaks encountered in
classical literature in favor of prioritizing a more natural sound. The evolution continued
with the introduction of rock and the rock musical in the 1960’s and 70’s and again in the
early 2000’s with pop music and musicals requiring a higher belt. Other idioms found
their way into music theater too, like hop-hop, country and gospel. These styles required
new ways to manage registration.
To understand this, one must first delve into alternating terminology. In classical
singing, “head voice” and “chest voice” have been used for centuries. In an effort to
include scientific, acoustical and functional developments in the study of registration,
commercial pedagogues began using TA (thyroarytenoid) and CT (cricothyroid)
dominance to explain vocal registration. Other terminologies have been introduced, like
Fry, Chest, Head and Whistle or “pulse-model-loft-whistle.”100 Consequently, Matthew
Hoch suggests streamlining this terminology to chest/head/mix, arguing that these are
useful in both classical and commercial pedagogies.101
Much of the controversy however, lies in the middle or mixed voice, the area for
most voices between E4 and C5. Classical singers utilize a head voice dominant or head-
mix in the middle, whereas CCM singers use a chest voice dominant or chest-mix. There
is also some difference between classical and CCM styles as to where these shifts occur,
Physiology and Pedagogy,” Perspectives on Teaching Singing: Australian Vocal Pedagogues Sing Their Stories, ed. by Scott D. Harrison (Bowen Hills: Australian Academic Press, 2010), 171.
100 Matthew Hoch and Mary J. Sandage, “Working Toward a Common Vocabulary: Reconciling the Terminology of Teachers of Singing, Voice Scientists, and Speech-Language Pathologists,” Journal of Voice, v. 31, no. 6 (2017): 647-648. https://www-clinicalkey-com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/#!/content/journal/1-s2.0-S0892199716304982
101 Ibid.
32
with classical singers making adjustment according to fach or voice type and commercial
singers according to style.
Also important is understanding the muscular balance of the mixed voice. A study
in 2012 aimed to prove that commercial singing styles “produce chestmix register by
maintaining or increasing adduction of the vocal processes (VP’s) and by engaging the
thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle to a greater degree than they would to produce head
register.”102 Using videonasendoscopy and audio to monitor fundamental frequency and
harmonics, subjects were asked to increase TA muscle dominance on the same pitch from
head to headmix to chestmix to chest. Vocal fold adduction was rated to measure
variances as a function of register and pitch.103 It was found that subjects at the high end
of the mid-range could produce pitches by increasing TA muscle activity and VP’s. Said
another way, TA activity increased from head to headmix and chestmix to chest, but
increased even more at higher pitches (F4 to D5). Scientifically speaking, a register is
defined “…as a series of frequencies that are perceived to be of similar quality and
produced in a similar physiological manner.” 104 The study helped then, to more clearly
delineate chestmix and headmix as their own registers as defined by expert judges and
also as entities with their own acoustic qualities. CT activity seemed to be more related to
pitch than control of registers.105 Upon further study, the same team in 2014 concluded
that:
Preliminary findings regarding CT and TA dominance and register control do not support the assumption that all chest and chestmix production has greater TA muscle activity than CT muscle activity or that all headmix and head production
102 Karen Ann Kochis-Jennings, Eileen M. Finnegan, Henry T. Hoffman and Sanyukta Jaiswal,
“Laryngeal Muscle Activity and Vocal Fold Adduction During Chest, Chestmix, Headmix, and Head Registers in Females,” Journal of Voice, v. 26, no. 2 (March 1, 2012): 182-193. Website: https://www-clinicalkey-com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/#!/content/journal/1-s2.0-S0892199710002195
103 Ibid. 104 Ibid. 105 Ibid.
33
require greater CT muscle activity than TA muscle activity. The data indicate that pitch level may play a greater role in determining TA and CT dominance than register.
These studies create some confusion as to the balance of TA and CT musculature in the
mix. That said, it is widely agreed, that for commercial styles, the shift of registers is
altered from chest to mid-voice in a chest-dominant mix. For a singer trying to sing rock
music for instance, this balance must be achieved in order to produce an authentic tone.
Teacher Mary Saunders-Barton tells of a legit soprano who wanted to learn to belt in her
middle range, incorporating that speech-like quality or chest-mix from D4 to D5 instead
of the student’s usual head-mix. This required finding a path up and down the voice and
avoiding the natural break from chest to head mix that would occur around F4 in a voice
trained for classical music.106 In addition, Saunders-Barton states, “The so-called ‘high-
belt’ in women, which creates such excitement (between E flat 5 and A flat 5 or higher),
is easier for most young women than the transitional notes between C5 and E flat 5 where
they feel a natural impulse to move to head voice/soprano. The trick is to develop
optional balancings in registration so that the transitional ranges become effortless but
maintain the desired color.”107 She makes a similar observation of a male singers using a
pop-reinforced falsetto. While it is important to have this ability to sing shows like
“Jersey Boys”, it is still important to maintain a connection to the chest and not use
falsetto as a substitute for the chest-mix.108 Daniel Zangger Borch also agrees that the
approach to registration is among the most important differences that commercial singers
106 Mary Saunders-Barton, “Yes, But Can You Do That Eight Shows a Week?,” ed. by Scott D
Harrison and Jessica O’Bryan, in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014), 62. 107 Ibid. 108 Ibid., 63.
34
have to tackle, saying that the strategy is completely different than that of the classical
singer.109
It is already established among classical vocal teachers that the larynx lowered
relative to pitch is the essential position for the classical singer to achieve a darker tone.
This is not true of the commercial singer. Kim Chandler states, “The preferred larynx
position for singing commercial music is either neutral (speech-like) or slightly raised to
help achieve the brighter, ‘twangier’ effect…”110 The recipe for twang in the Estill Voice
model includes, in addition to a narrow aryepiglottic sphincter (AES) and mid-velum
among other elements, a high laryngeal position (see figure 2.1).111
Figure 2.1: Estill Voice Model
109 Daniel Zangger Borch, “Daniel Zangger Borch,” in So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary
Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers, ed. Matthew Hoch (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), 4244.
110 Chandler, Teaching Popular Music, 38. 111 Jo Estill, Estill Voice Training: Level Two Figure Combinations for Six Voice Qualities
Workbook, ed. by Mary McDonald Klimek with Kerrie Obert & Kimberley Steinhauer (Estill Voice Training Systems International, LLC, 2005), 43.
35
Stated another way Irene Bartlett says “From personal performance experience and my
years of observing and training CCM singers, I know that a classical-style vocal tract
setup (lowered larynx position, wide pharynx) on full breath volumes is unsustainable for
CCM singers whose repertoire is produced primarily in lower register settings and
delivered through conversational phrasing.”112 For CCM, Robert Edwin talks about a
“gender-neutral” type of teaching, treating female and male larynxes as functionally the
same (see Figure 2.2).113
Figure 2.2 The Pharynx and Larynx114
112 Bartlett, “Irene Bartlett,” 2810. 113 Edwin, “Robert Edwin,” 2229. 114 Michigan Head and Neck Institute (accessed April 8, 2019), website:
While there is agreement on registers and laryngeal position among commercial
pedagogues, there is some discord in how these functions should be taught. Not all
pedagogues agree on the amount of direct manipulation that should be employed when
dealing with student registration issues. While the Estill Voice Method promotes isolation
and facilitation of voice function by individually controlling the larynx, throat, soft palate
and other parts of the instrument, Jeanette LoVetri is diametrically opposed to this
approach, stating:
As a teacher, it is imperative that one can hear healthy function in belting or in “mixy” pop singing and that all sounds, all sounds, be made freely, without any direct movement of structures within the throat. I am opposed to manipulating the throat to get to a preconceived result. I am against moving the larynx, the area above and around the larynx, the palate, or any area from the back of the mouth to the vocal folds on purpose…Instead, I work from register balance (chest/head/mix) and from vowel sound purity or accuracy, paying particular attention to the middle range of each singer.”115
Resonance Teachers of CCM are mostly in agreement when it comes to resonance. The areas
of the vocal tract that allow sound to reverberate are unique to each singer and are the
primary source of distinct tonal quality. With the invention of the microphone, the
resonance strategies of the classical singer no longer applied to the commercial one. “The
singer no longer needed to call upon a generic singing technique to project into large
spaces, but instead could sing as though whispering into the ear of the individual
listeners.”116 The first vocal style to develop as a result was the crooner. Robert Edwin
succinctly states “The pharynx narrowed, the larynx raised, the soft palate lowered, and
115 Lovetri, “Jeannette LoVetri,” 2810. 116 Potter and Sorrell, A History of Singing, 245.
37
the chiaro dominated the oscuro. This is completely opposite of what a classically trained
singer would be expected to do.”117
When examining resonance, the areas of concern that affect or filter sound are
located above the larynx and true vocal folds. While each respectively ”power, source
and filter” are not linear but occur simultaneously and effect the other, it is still useful to
define what areas of the vocal instrument can change the nature of the tone above the
level of the true vocal folds. The Estill Voice Method includes these areas or “compulsory
figures” in its year 2000 model: Velar port control, head and neck anchoring, pharyngeal
width and length, tongue control, AES, jaw movement and lip control.118 Today the Estill
Method refers to the anatomical structures of the instrument instead of the “power, source
and filter” model. This includes, in addition to the true vocal folds and the larynx, the
cricoid and thyroid cartilage, and false vocal folds, AES, jaw, tongue, lips, velum and
head and neck.119 In training to combine recipes in The Estill Voice Method, many
changes in resonance are expected in going from “Speech” to “Opera” voice figure
combinations. In speech the thyroid cartilage is vertical, in “Opera” tilted. The AES
(aryepiglottic sphincter) is wide in “Speech” and in “Opera,” narrow. The false vocal
folds are mid in “Speech” but wide in “Opera”.120 Estill also applies variations of these
structures in “Twang,” “Falsetto,” “Sob” and “Belt.”
Voice teachers Gina Latimerlo and Lisa Popeil explain succinctly the differences
in some of these areas of resonance. Beginning with the pharynx, for purposes here the
space above the larynx in the upper neck, they state: “The pharynx has three possible
positions. It can be held in a wide position (which is best for classical and R&B singing).
You can also constrict your pharynx (for country and rock singing), or you can keep it
neutral (for music theater, jazz and pop singing).”121 The ring, or singers formant
achieved partially with an open throat, is no longer the necessary goal for the CCM
performer. With amplification, the singer no longer has to be heard over an orchestra and
can use a more closed pharyngeal position.
In addition to the shape and space within the pharynx, CCM requires a different
approach with respect to the mouth, lips and jaw. Lisa Popeil says that these differences
are the first thing she explains to students trying to learn a new style. “I usually begin
with resonator shaping, which I call “mouth shapes” for short. For instance, when I teach
R&B, I demonstrate a mouth shape I call ‘water in the mouth,’ and for sultry jazz, I use
fish lips.’ Each mouth shape helps to create a basic resonance that can then be made
precise by changing laryngeal height (lower or higher) or altering pharyngeal width
(neutral, constricted, or wide).”122 The jaw in classical singing usually needs to remain
relaxed and somewhat dropped depending on range. For the CCM singer, jaw placement
can affect the tone and character. Also, the jaw needs to remain flexible and moveable in
order to emulate a speech-like quality. The flexibility of the lips is also needed for CCM
singing. In everyday speech, the lips are in a neutral position and relaxed. On the other
hand, protruding the lips and widening the vocal tract can often darken the sound, as Lisa
Popeil suggests, creating a smoky, darker jazzy sound. Spread or wide lips will create a
brighter, more lifted tone by decreasing the space in the vocal tract.123 All of these sounds
121 Gina Latimerlo and Lisa Popeil, Sing Anything: Mastering Vocal Styles (Gina Latimerlo and
Lisa Popeil, 2012), 19. 122 Popeil, “Lisa Popeil,” 3266. 123 Estill, The Estill Voice Model, 182-183.
39
are useful in creating both a more speech-like vocal production and different dramatic
character.
As discussed, shifts within the vocal tract or filter, to include the soft palate or
velum, are another area that can be manipulated to alter nasality. David Sabella says, “I
cannot tell you how many hundreds of singers I have worked with, both male and female,
who have gone through a four-year program only to hit a wall in the professional
auditions because they do not sing how they speak. This may be the single most
important thing to address in the CCM technique.”124 While the legit music theater or
opera voice needs the sound of a lifted soft palate, many other styles of singing do not.
Rather, the desired brighter sound of many CCM styles is the result of reduced space in
the resonating chambers, including the soft palate. A music theater mix and belt are often
aided with the soft palate in a mid-position, or slightly hanging down. The Estill Voice
Method suggests using the word “bongo” in explaining the progression from one shape of
the velum to another.125 The “bon” is like the nasal vowels in French and suggests a mid-
velum. The “ng” is the velum in a closed position and the “go” raised.126 Gina Latimerlo
and Lisa Popeil suggest a mid-soft palate in music theater, pop, R&B but a lowered soft
palate for country and rock.127
Style
The subject of style is an interesting one. Those teaching a “classical technique”
are in essence teaching a student to sing in the style of classical music. Some voice
124 David Sabella, “David Sabella,” in So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial
Music): A Guide for Performers, ed. Matthew Hoch (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), 3266.
125 Estill, The Estill Voice Model, 155. 126 Ibid. 127 Latimerlo and Popeil, Sing Anything, 35, 51, 59, 66, 74.
40
teachers will say they teach CCM pedagogy, but not CCM styles. Others believe that you
can’t teach one without teaching the other. Robert Erwin is clear when he states
“Technique serves style (genre). It is the foundation that enables the style (genre) to exist.
Technique is “how” you do something. Style is “what” you do with that technique.”128
Others like Elisabeth Howard, who teaches styles of CCM other than music theater,
believe a voice teacher should be able to instruct elements of style like improvisation,
going from classical runs to pop runs and licks.129 Ms. Howard has her students pick
apart a particular performance from an established artist to understand every element of
the style he or she is singing and learn to copy each nuance.130 CCM teacher Daniel
Zanger Borch divides vocal training into three pie slices: Taking care of, technique and
interpretation.131 He says “You can’t train technique for an extended period without
including interpretation and it would not service you to just interpret songs and neglect
your technique.”132 He also breaks down each style and describes both typical methods
for each, as well as the singers that exemplify those elements. His description of rock is:
“… singers usually sing at high pitches, with high lung pressure, using their chest register
with little or no vibrato and distortion as an effect,” and pop is “usually sung at a
comfortable pitch, with moderate lung pressure and often with a light and/or breathy
tone. Vibrato is used sparingly and creaky onsets and glottal stops are common phrasing
devices.”133 Jo Estill was the first to label her six perceived voice qualities “Falsetto,
128 Erwin, “David Erwin,” 2164 129 Elisabeth Howard, “Elisabeth Howard,” in So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary
Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers, ed. Matthew Hoch (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), 2394.
130 Ibid., 2407. 131 Daniel Zanger Borch, Ultimate Vocal Voyage: The Definitive Method for Unleashing the Rock,
Pop or Soul Singer Within You (Bromma, Sweden: Notfabriken Music Publishing AB, 2007), 11-12. 132 Ibid. 133 Ibid., 63.
41
Speech, Sob, Twang, Opera and Belting.”134 Her ideas closely intertwine style and
technique. Similarly, Gina Latimerlo and Lisa Popeil divide their book on mastering
styles, according to the elements of the vocal instrument which can be altered in order to
sound authentic in a particular style.135 When comparing these different points of view,
the combination of technique and style seem to be closely intertwined. They all seem to
imply that by learning to manipulate the instrument with proper technique, one can create
certain styles.
The pedagogies of classical singing have been evolving for hundreds of years.
While there are different approaches to teaching the classical singer, time and knowledge
have helped establish many common practices. It is fair to say that the techniques of
teaching the CCM singer have also become accepted vocal pedagogy. Established
research in voice-science in the late twentieth and early twenty first century has
legitimized singing in alternate styles and there is much evidence to show it is no more
harmful to the voice than classical singing styles. Matthew Hoch states in his introduction
to So You Want to Sing CCM,? that because of the effort of many pioneering voice
pedagogues, “CCM pedagogy finally has earned the stature worthy of standing alongside
classical pedagogy. Just two decades ago, this twenty-first-century reality would have
astonished many of the contributors to this volume.”136 So, if all pedagogies, both
classical and CCM, are taught in service to creating a healthy, balanced instrument, why
is it not possible to train the voice to do all of them? In other words, can one successfully
vocal cross-train?
134 Estill, Estill Voice Training, v. 135 Latimerlo and Popeil, Sing Anything, 19. 136 Hoch, So You Want to, 72.
42
CHAPTER 3: QUALITATIVE METHODOLOGY
In using the scientific method to conduct research, “We are concerned primarily
with the systematic search for solutions to problems based on empirical observation.”137
When planning research in education, there are three possible avenues to consider. The
first is historic, the second experimental and the third descriptive, or determining the
“…status or state of the art of a phenomenon such as examining process through surveys,
case studies, trend studies.”138 The type of research conducted here is of the descriptive
method by way of an anonymous written interview.
This researcher argues that the state of the music industry in the 21st century is
pushing voice teachers to give students alternate and additional methods to stay relevant
in a profoundly competitive and increasingly demanding profession. In order for the
teaching profession to remain pertinent in such an environment, it must expand its
methods and pedagogical skills to meet this need. Vocal cross-training is one such
method and the research questions asked in this study are designed to gather empirical
evidence to support the researchers positive view of this technique. The questions asked
are: Is this method healthy for the singer? If so, which approach is most effective? What,
if any, are the limitations? Is this method a way to extend the longevity of the vocal
instrument? Can a singer perform a rock concert one night and an opera the next, or does
137 Richard Colwell and Music Educators National Conference (U.S.), MENC Handbook of
Research Methodologies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 39. 138 Ibid.
43
he/she need time to recover or retrain? Does a singer need to consistently work all
muscles in both styles to be successful? And finally, what constitutes success for the
performer?
The procedure used to research these questions was a written interview conducted
among eight (8) vocal pedagogues, experts in their field (The assumption is that their
expertise will lend validity to the data gathered on vocal cross-training). The interview
was administered through SurveyMonkey.com and the resulting answers remained
completely anonymous. Each respondent was identified only by letter, i.e. respondent
“A”, “B”, “C.” While the researcher selected the interviewees based on their expertise as
vocal pedagogues, their identification and corresponding answers were unknown to the
researcher.
Subject Sampling:
Mark Saunders states “Our choice of research participants should be determined
by the focus of our research, thereby enabling us to meet our research aim and answer our
research question.”139 The choice in sampling is either random (probability) or not
random (non-probability). This researcher has used non-probability or non-random
sampling to gather data. Non-probability sampling is used when the focus is on a
particular subgroup chosen. “…the choice is based on the researcher’s judgment
regarding those of the population’s characteristics that are important in relation to the
data required to address the research aim.”140 Probability sampling has not been used in
this qualitative research because the expertise of this non-probability sample is necessary
139 Ibid., 39-40. 140 Ibid.
44
to gain further understanding in a specific area. This group of experienced vocal
pedagogues represents then, a non-random sampling. All of the participants were chosen
for their experience in teaching and performing both CCM, to include music theater, and
classical genres of singing.
Limitations of Qualitative Research:
The type of research conducted in concurrence with this dissertation is qualitative.
The capability of the researcher is considered important in this type of study and as a
result the researcher’s classical and CCM training, teaching and performance experience
is used to evaluate the data.
Finally, it is important to acknowledge that each of the participants involved in
this study shares the view that music theater/CCM and classical singing have differences
and similarities and were chosen because of this viewpoint in order to further the
understanding of vocal cross-training. There are however, teachers who believe that one
technical approach can accommodate all styles of singing and their teaching reflects this
perspective.
45
CHAPTER 4: THE ARGUMENT FOR CROSS-TRAINING
What is Vocal Cross-Training?
In 2018, NATS held its annual convention and a break-out session was offered by
Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders Barton called “Cross Training in the Voice Studio: A
Balancing Act.” The workshop information read:
This presentation is for the studio teacher who needs strategies—and maybe who also needs permission—to work with students in a way that appeals to their diverse interests, their vocal well-being, and to the current market. Our presentation, meant to be a practical insight to building balanced, flexible, and resilient vocalism through concurrent work in classical and music theater styles, combines the best practices of traditional pedagogy with music theater singing pedagogy. We will outline our philosophy of cross-training—the balance of “bel canto/can belto” that embraces both classical and vernacular styles. Both opera and music theater are inherently dramatic art forms and require a high degree of vocal conditioning and athleticism to maintain career longevity. And, after all, aren’t we all looking for balanced vocalism?141
In their book on vocal cross-training for both music theater and classical styles, Dr.
Spivey and Ms. Saunders Barton equate training the larynx of the young singer to
training the young dancer saying “…if we consider the voice as movement, and it
certainly is, functional training of the laryngeal muscles is the singer’s ‘barre work’ when
voice training starts.”142 It is the “stylistic aspirations” that determine how the larynx will
respond.143 This in essence is the idea of vocal cross-training. Any trainer will explain
141 Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders-Barton, Breakout Session, “Cross-Training in the Voice
Studio: A Balancing Act,” National Associate of Teachers of Singing (June 25, 2018), Website: https://www.nats.org/_A_Balancing_Act.html
142 Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders-Barton, Cross-Training in the Voice Studio: A Balancing Act (San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2018), Ibid., 32.
143 Ibid.
46
that for one set of muscles to be strong, one must work the adjacent muscles for
resiliency and flexibility. By extension then, this must be true for the singer as well.
Prevailing Attitudes on Vocal Cross-Training
The idea of vocal cross-training is still controversial and opinions on the practice
are limited. It has been difficult to establish agreement that more than one pedagogical
approach in needed. Is the profession ready to accept that employing multiple approaches
simultaneously is healthy? There are still voices saying “What good are classical
techniques to a rock singer?” With the turn of the twenty-first century however, there
seems to be a shift, and others are asking “What makes singing healthy?”
Robert Edwin stated in 2002, “If a singer learns classical vocal technique it will
serve classical-like singing. It will not, I repeat, will not serve the contemporary
commercial singer. Paton's 26 Italian Songs and Arias is not a necessary purchase for
most nonclassical singers. Neither is training in the use of vibrato from the onset of tone,
full and formal vowels, and an uninterrupted legato line. Let's make sure we are teaching
vocal technique that benefits the style of the singer rather than trying to turn a perceived
brutto canto into a bel canto.”144 Mr. Edwin reversed his position six years later and made
this statement, “Just as cross training promotes optimal performance levels and mitigates
against injury in athletes, cross training for the voice promotes similar results for “voice
athletes.”145 After describing how a singer can learn to adjust his or her vocal tract to
accommodate and train in different styles, he goes further stating, “Why, then, is much of
144 Robert Edwin, “Belting: Bel Canto or Bruto Canto?” Journal of Singing, v. 59, no. 1
(September/October, 2002): 67-68. 145 Robert Edwin, “Cross Training for the Voice,” Journal of Singing, v. 65, no. 1
(September/October, 2008): 73-76.
47
the greater voice teaching community still resistant to a pedagogic model that practically
guarantees an increase in strength, flexibility, coordination, and endurance, as well as an
expansion of artistic and aesthetic boundaries?” That’s quite a turn-around in four years.
While one understands his initial contention was that low larynx, high-palate singing will
not produce a rock sound, it is still a substantial argument for vocal cross-training.
Other established voices have acknowledged the possibilities of cross-training,
but with more reservation. Jeanette Lovetri says: “Cross training in singing styles allows
the body to do more than you’d think, however one might not reach the optimal level in
any of them. That’s not realistic. Nevertheless, you can reach a good level in several
styles and produce them efficiently if you cross train.”146 Others like Kim Chandler, go
further stating: “The benefits of cross training the body are well established in gyms
across the world, but not everybody thinks of applying similar principles to their singing
training. Given the fact that singing training contains an element of muscular efficiency
and conditioning, it goes without saying that vocal cross training is also beneficial.”147
Chandler even has a vocal cross-training application that expands on her ideas, giving
routines and exercises to assist students.148
The idea of vocal cross-training is even gaining traction in higher education. In
2011 Penn State developed an MFA program: Voice Pedagogy for Musical Theatre. It
teaches singers to train for and learn to teach both music theater and classical styles.
Sarah Wigley, Clinical Assistant Professor of Voice for the Lyric Theatre department at
the University of Champaign-Urbana, instructs Lyric Theatre Studio, and is one of the
146 Jeanie Lovetri, “Episode 49: On Belting, Functional Training and Somatic Voicework,” The
Naked Vocalist (accessed February 27, 2019), website https://www.thenakedvocalist.com/podcast/jeanie-lovetri/
147 Kim Chandler, “Create Your Vocal ‘Cross Training’ Program,” Voice Council Magazine (February 5, 2014), website: http://www.voicecouncil.com/create-your-vocal-cross-training-program/
148 Ibid.
48
first educators to launch a vocal cross training program at a university. In another
example, this author works as an adjunct voice instructor at the University of North
Carolina at Pembroke. There all voice students, whether they be Music Industry:
Commercial or Classical track majors, Music Theater majors or Bachelor of Arts majors,
sing in multiple styles. Music Industry majors are required to learn a classical piece every
semester and Bachelor of Arts majors, a music theater piece. Oklahoma City University
touts their vocal program saying “Students gain performance skills in not only musical
theater but also classical and operatic repertoire. Each student must complete a junior
recital consisting entirely of classical repertoire and a senior recital focused on music
theater repertoire and related styles. This vocal cross training makes our graduates
competitive and versatile.”149
While this is not an exhaustive list, there is definitely a move toward this type of
vocal training. The following research on vocal cross-training will delve deeper into its
benefits and potential for students and educators as they navigate the demands of a 21st
century career in singing and teaching.
Interview on Vocal Cross-Training: Break-down of Data for Questions 1-15:
Question 1: For how long have you sung/performed classical music? Of the eight
respondents, 7 or 87.5% answered “15 or more years.” One respondent or 12.5%
answered “6-10 years.”
Question 2: For how long have you sung/performed CCM (contemporary, commercial
music, including music theater)? Of the eight respondents, 7 or 87.5% answered “15 or
149 Oklahoma City University (accessed March 1, 2019),
due to the limited access to higher education in CCM pedagogy, all the training and much
of the experience these pedagogues have in CCM and music theater did not come from
their formal education, with 100% saying that their highest degrees were based in
classical music. As for the venue and ages of the students they teach, there is a direct
correspondence between the six respondents who teach on the college level and the 75%
who teach those18-24 years old.
Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders Barton state in the preface to Cross-Training
in the Voice Studio that there are very few published works or studies done on vocal
cross-training, but many done on “…acoustics, voice science or other studio training
essentials…”.153 This researcher’s questions are aimed at expanding the exploration of
vocal cross-training by ascertaining commonalities in definition and prevalence in the
voice studio. Of those questioned, 100% have both heard the term and teach it in their
own studios. Of those, 50% teach it optionally and 37.5% require it of their students. One
respondent or 12.5% states “other” regarding its requirement. It is not however a direct
requirement for any of them, which can be interpreted to mean that none of their
university programs or high schools are yet requiring this type of training.
Each respondent is asked to give his or her own definition of vocal cross-training.
When comparing these definitions to that of Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders Barton’s
which states it is “the balance of “bel canto/can belto” that embraces both classical and
vernacular styles,” and equates training the young larynx to the barre exercises of the
young dancers, we definitely see some correlations with our findings.154 Many
respondents equate cross-training with the ability to cross from one style to another,
153 Spivey and Saunders-Barton, Cross-Training, ix. 154 Spivey and Saunders-Barton, “Breakout Session.”
56
while others give more specific information about register balance and mix. Each
definition incorporates the ideas of style and technical adjustments as do Spivey and
Barton. These are the definitions of vocal cross-training that emerged from question 15:
Respondent A: The ability to step outside of the classical “bel canto” technique so that the voice is flexible enough to sing any style well. Respondent B: Vocal cross training is teaching and training the voice to understand the nuance in thinner (head voice dominant) to thicker (chest-voice dominant) vocal folds, differentiation in vowel shapes, onset/offset, vibrato, soft-palate use, and twang according to style and context. Respondent C: I consider vocal cross training to be any training of the body, breath, and voice that produces the healthiest, safest, most efficient, most desired sound/effect for the purpose of communicating stories through music, in any genre or style to which the singer relates or for which the singer is cast in a role. Respondent D: Training a voice to be flexible and healthy in all styles of music. Stretching the voice to be healthy and flexible Respondent E: Simplest def for me: requiring head-dominant sounds be worked even if not publicly performed and vice versa: I don't dictate to them in which style they will get this accomplished, but only that it actually happens via genres, exercises, key changes, or whatever works. Respondent F: I listen and assess vocal function of each student at each lesson. Whether a student is singing classical or MT or pop, they should be able to make heady sounds, chesty sounds, mixy sounds. Belters should know how to take a head register sound down to chest register, and opera singers should be able to take a chest register sound up to mix or belt territory. This cross-training makes sure the voice functions well in both registers and in the mix. Speech exercises are another area of “cross-training.” I use Mary Saunders-Barton's book for exercises. Respondent G: Learning and applying the different stylist requirements of genres. Respondent H: Training the voice to sing in multiple styles and genres.
57
Interview on Vocal Cross-Training - Data vs. Research Questions 16-26:
A number of research questions initially proposed have been tested by compiling
and analyzing answers to written, open ended questions given to the eight respondents.
Attention is first given to answering the original research questions: Is this method
healthy for the singer and what, if any, are the limitations? After thoroughly examining
the answers, it is evident that this group of respondents considers the results of vocal
cross-training to be overwhelmingly positive. Comments range from increasing vocal
awareness to giving added confidence and control. On the negative side and in response
to its limitations, many respond that they see no negatives. Others say time is one of the
greatest obstacles, explaining the requirements for the classical singer are so strenuous, it
is difficult to do both. The respondents also describe teachers that either push one style
too much or don’t understand the needed techniques. This particular sentiment is echoed
in many published writings of CCM pedagogues, expressing their frustration that teachers
do not have the requisite knowledge to teach styles other than classical.
These are the answers to question 19, “What are the positive effects of cross-
training?”:
Respondent A: Expansion of the technique and increased career opportunities. Respondent B: I find that students are more musically and vocally expressive, more aware of under/over supporting, increasingly aware of laryngeal placement and if they are pushing their voice with too much subglottal pressure or weight in the folds in either style (classic or contemporary). Respondent C: There are so many benefits to teaching all styles. It would be a dissertation unto itself! The most obvious practical applications to me are the marketability of the singer. The more styles one can successfully and healthily execute, the more “hire-able” one is. And, in my personal opinion, the happier one is. When I bring a crowd to its feet singing Janice Joplin's “Bobby McGee” and follow it up with “Habanera” accompanied by my guitarist, the crowd goes more wild, and it's an
58
exhilarating feeling to execute both, at a professional level, back to back. I want my students to experience that too. And to be “hire-able” anywhere. With regard to technique, switching back and forth amid the wide spectrum of styles keeps everything in balance.” …All of this healthy ‘access’ to countless ‘sounds’” prevents potential injury and promotes extraordinary choices and depths of artistic communication. That's the reason we sing. And that's the benefit of cross-training. Respondent D: BEING FLEXIBLE! You cannot train in one area of your voice and expect the other areas to be strong. Respondent F: The benefits are huge. Cross-training increases flexibility, confidence, and control. It helps the singer know what their limits and boundaries are, while also expanding them. It gives me great information as a teacher -- we often uncover sounds and colors we didn't know were in a voice, and that leads us to new repertoire and new vocal opportunities. Respondent G: I find it gives students a better awareness of sub glottal pressure and the engagement of the muscles in the neck and around the larynx. Respondent H: The voice is stronger and more flexible. Vocal cross training has improved my own voice and awareness.
These are the answers to the “negative” effects of cross-training:
Respondent A: There aren't many, but the repertoire and language work required to get in to classical graduate school nowadays requires so much focus that the students I have who want that path first and foremost do have to make some choices. Respondent B: …I have witnessed nothing but positive results with the exception of a lack of time to devote to both classical and contemporary repertoire. The most difficult aspect of cross-training vocalists is to assist them in how to effectively practice the vastly diverse repertoire they are learning and committing to understanding technically. Respondent C: The only negative effects of cross-training occur when it is poorly taught or executed. Or... in certain cases, when the singer doesn't have an “ear” for the style... i.e. when the singer attempts to sing “jazz,” but every attempt still sounds classical. For example, many CCM styles require access to straight tone singing, but with warmth. If a singer cannot or will not sing without vibrato, that singer will never “sound” like a nuanced CCM singer, as there will always be an
59
important stylistic element missing there. In cases like these (and they certainly exist), I see nothing wrong with allowing that singer to remain more focused on the style that suits them best, rather than “forcing” variety upon them. Respondent D: Some teachers take this overboard. They think they are teaching a good basic technique, they tend to push more in ONE style. Also, not enough is spent on truly understanding how to support the voice, which is a great deal to do with all of this as well. Respondent E: The only negative in my experience is temporary: in dealing with adolescents, you are teaching them several different systems of sound production, really, and there is a short period of time where they don't tend to be "solid" on any of the genres. I have found, however, that if I'm interested not in temporary perfection (“we will learn only one thing at a time so that I will look good at teacher-sponsored student competitions!”) but rather in the long-term acquisition of skills, it's a win-win every time. I am educating singers for the long haul, for a lifetime of meaningful sung communication. This far outweighs the temporary period of them sounding slightly too chesty (“constrained”) in their classical registration choices because they haven't yet learned to fully release the musculature for ideal classical sound, resonance, color, and expression (this can slightly relate to the fact that they are currently belting “Good Morning Baltimore”, if you know what I mean!) But this short-term hump of mis-applying from one technique to another because the body hasn't yet stabilized on its full “system” of coordination for each genre tends to be quite short. I am personally of the opinion (I can't prove it, however) that a major reason it doesn't last too long is because teaching multiple genres forces the singer to become acutely body-aware: breath aware, pitch aware, resonance aware, muscle aware, acting aware, text/diction aware, etc., etc., etc. Respondent F: I see very few negative effects. If a teacher is only doing the exercises to “get the warmups done” then cross-training won't benefit the student very much. It requires a teacher who knows what to listen for functionally, stylistically and psychologically. And, some students just don't want to go there. They just want to sing what they want to sing and have no interest in anything else. This is usually a front for feelings of insecurity. Sometimes we can have a breakthrough and cross-training can be the catalyst; sometimes not. Another surprising negative: I have so many choral students who cross-train and realize that their voices can do SO MUCH MORE than blending in a choir. They suddenly decide they don't like choirs that much anymore. ;) I feel bad for the choir director, but I also wish the choir directors would cross-train and give all of their singers the chance to make powerful sounds.
60
Respondent G: Learning to use the breath in classical technique and then trying to use the same volume of air in a belt or mix.
Another research question proposed is What methods offer the most effective
approach? The respondents answered this in Question 17: Are there specific techniques
you apply to all styles of singing? If so, what are they? Are there techniques you teach
that are specific to a particular style? If so, what are they? There were some recurring
answers. A few of the respondents mentioned that the use of breath and breathing
techniques are different in some CCM styles in comparison to classical; some said
breathing was one of the only things similar in both. Some discussed specifically but
many alluded to the balance between TA and CT musculature or finding the correct
“mix” per style. Specific methods mentioned were Jeanette LoVetri’s Somatic Voice
Work and Mary Saunders Barton’s exercises in her new book Cross-Training in the Voice
Studio.155 Also, one person mentioned Anne Peckham’s exercises in The Contemporary
Singer.156 Most teachers seem to combine ideas from many methods, using their own
language, in addition to voice science terminology. Responses to question 17 follow:
Respondent A: Breath and posture. That's about it! Respondent B: I teach optimal support and an engaged, energized body free from tension regardless of style. However, I only use tall vowels, appoggio breathing, and optimal use of soft palate when teaching classical singing technique. I also only use “twang,” a higher (mid) breath, speech-like vowels, and thicker-fold use for teaching contemporary voice techniques. Respondent C: Most of my technical instruction applies to all styles of singing. The instrument and many of the basic mechanics (intrinsic laryngeal coordinative processes, etc.) are the same when one seeks to master fundamentals like clarity, flexibility,
155 Spivey and Saunders-Barton, Vocal Cross-Training. 156 Anne Peckham, The Contemporary Singer: Elements of Vocal Technique (Boston: Berklee
Press, 2000).
61
dynamics, range, registration isolation and amalgamation, etc. The specific exercises I use to approach those aspects are quite universal in my teaching style and application. I would say that some of the “differences” come into play when, of course, working toward a preferred/expected tone quality for specific styles. For example, if a student is “swallowing” their sound and wishes to excel in musical theater, I begin the process of bringing the direction of the sound more forward, providing directives that guide resonance to the front of the face, etc. This may be done with language about “placement,” vowel specification, etc. If a student carries their sound very forward (overly bright) and wishes to excel in “classical” style, we tend to work on providing more resonance space and slightly redirecting the path of resonance, and we may address vowel specification as well, as it pertains to overtone expectations in classical singing. All of my students use all vocal registrations (and all various percentages of “blend/mix”) in all styles. In some cases, when teaching a classical piece, a very thin-voiced soprano may be encouraged to increase thyro-arytenoid use toward the bottom of the treble staff, while maintaining enough space to create a “warm classical” sound, whereas, a heavier-voiced student who is naturally overly-dominant in their thyroarytenoid use may be encouraged to provide more mix/blend toward the bottom of the treble staff to maintain a better spin / shimmer there. Every single student is completely different. I don't assign any one exercise or technique across the board. I assess every individual, listen carefully to the sound, assess strengths and weaknesses, determine the function creating that sound, and begin the process of isolating and working on weaker muscle groups to bring them into balance with stronger ones. That is key to building a foundation upon which we can nuance other aspects to achieve appropriate “style.” Respondent D: I would like to say that I am a classically based teacher, but then take that training and use the same principles and apply it to various styles of music. Respondent E: Yes! Sounds & singing that are CT-dominant, TA-dominant, and then virtually “unknown dominant” in terms of sound. :) I require them to use straws constantly in their warm-up process in the studio, and I require the awareness of onsets (aspirated, coordinated, glottal, etc.), vocal-fold choices such as breathiness, full closure (“full adduction”), etc.; the fact that the body as instrument must be utilized differently from genre to genre and between vocal techniques; the fact that how we breathe is dependent not only on our own unique bodies but also upon the genre itself (I teach genre-specific breathing in a generalized sense), etc., etc., etc. Respondent F: I use AE exercises with everyone to encourage flexibility in the vocal tract. I use Mary Saunders Barton's new book to work on teaching mix and belt to classical singers (which is a lot of my studio). But because I am a LoVetrian (SVW), I tend to listen for function first and then create exercises that improve function where improvement is needed. I always make sure singers can do a heady “ooh” and “ahh” as well. I also check in with the body -- looking at how well the lungs are
62
filling, what the posture is like, where the head and chin and shoulders are. Those aren't specific to a style but I do watch out for them. Respondent G: Commercial students learn different breath management tools, as they often use less air in the production. Respondent H: The voice and body must be free of unnecessary tension in all styles. I teach students to make healthy sounds and then apply these vocal colors to the appropriate style.
Robert Edwin stated in 2002, “As teachers of singing, we need to understand that
beautiful singing or ugly singing is an aesthetic issue, whereas technical efficiency or
inefficiency is a functional issue.”157 This leads to the research question: Can a singer
perform a rock concert one night and an opera the next, or does he/she need time to
recover or retrain? Does a singer need to consistently work all muscles in both styles to
be successful? In Spivey and Saunders Barton’s “Bel Canto/Can Belto workshop at the
2013 Voice Foundation Symposium with a student performing hugely contrasting styles,
she is asked “How long do you have to wait before you change styles” and the student
replied “Well…right away.”158 Unfortunately, while there is almost no research or data
addressing this question, our respondents answers do shed some light. Two paths seem to
emerge: One is if singers consistently cross-train, they are much more apt to be able to do
any type of style consecutively. Another is that singers seem to have an “attractor state”
or a “knack” for one over another. Some suggest it is a technical issue of registration,
others that it lies in what was taught first and is most familiar. One consistency in
responses is that it seems more difficult to transition from a heavy or thick vocal fold
style like rock or gospel, to something thinner like classical or that it is easier to go from
157 Robert Edwin, “Belting: Bel Canto or Bruto Canto?” The Journal of Singing, vol. 59, no. 1
(September/October, 2002): 67. 158 Spivey and Saunders-Barton, Vocal Cross-Training, 18.
63
something classical to a music theater mix, which is more similar. Many say that each
student is unique and there isn’t a one size fits all approach. Each respondent was asked
in question 18: Do you have your students sing different styles in each lesson or do you
stick to one? If you teach in more than one at a time, what styles do you find easiest to
alternate between?; in question 22, Do you find that your students or you yourself are
equally competent in singing more than one style, or better at one/some than others and
to what do you attribute this result?; and in question 23, Do you find that your students or
you can sing more than one style in a single audition or performance? If so, what styles
can you or your students most comfortably combine? Below are some responses that
address these questions:
Respondent A- Question 22: I have found that singers usually have more of a knack for one than the other. Very few students excel equally at both. I am not exactly sure why, but with women - skillful command over registration is a big factor. Respondent B - Question 18: Each lesson, I have my students sing in both a classical style and a musical theatre/pop/rock style to optimally cross-train vocal flexibility and awareness. I find it is easiest to alternate between classical voice and mix voice technique (this would be akin to teaching a Mozart aria and then immediately teaching an Alan Menken song found in a Disney musical). Respondent B - Question 23: Yes, all of my students (myself included) can sing more than one style in a single audition or performance. My students can and do often combine classical and musical theatre styles within one performance or audition. I find that the most difficult combination is with a heavier fold placement (gospel/jazz/soul) into or out of a classical singing placement that demands a thinner fold and much more soft-palate space. Respondent C - Question 18: If I know I will be working the student on, for example, a rigorous Mozart aria AND a major musical theater belt piece, I sometimes ask the student which piece they'd like to do first. Then, I warm them up by covering ALL technical aspects (checking extremes of the range, flexibility with melismatic passages, ascending and descending phrases while alternating use of dynamic changes, AND registration switches. I “check-in” with every function of the voice that maybe
64
covered in both pieces. And I may spend slightly more time on a particular function that is challenging or new for the student... as a technique reminder. When doing this, alternation between styles is no issue. In my own performances, I sometimes bounce between jazz, blues, pop, rock, musical theater, and even art song / opera. I've been doing so successfully for years (based on good training from my own teacher), so I happily pass that on to my students. Respondent D - Question 22: Singing should be a very natural production. It certainly can be trained to sing in various styles, but what is your own natural sound, and god given talent is where you are most comfortable. I like to sing in all styles, but I feel my most natural sound and confidence comes in singing operetta, standards, and earlier music theater. Respondent E - Question 23: My more advanced students have combined legit and modern MT successfully in auditions. I can do so as well. I actually can't think of a single genre that couldn’t be combined successfully in one performance or audition. Depends on the individual person, their body default(s), and how quickly they can switch up their instrument (their body) on command at a moment's notice. Respondent F - Question 23: Most of my students aren’t asked or required to sing more than one style at a time. But, I do have a lot of high schoolers who have to produce MT belt/MT pop sounds and also legit sounds, and we cross-train for that. Choir singers have the most difficult time transitioning into any other style but choral. MT singers can sometimes have difficulty singing anything classical or legit or choral. We analyze the stylistic and functional parameters of each style and I create vocalises and exercises to cross train each singer individually. Respondent G - Question 23: Combining is wonderful and makes voices much more powerful all the way around. I find gospel and classical the most difficult to immediately combine, but not impossible, as the muscle engagement is often something that’s been nurtured for life (in the home and church) and it takes more mental energy to override. Respondent H - Question 22: It seems that most students have a style that they are most comfortable in and sing best. Each student is unique. The results can be attributed to upbringing, influences, vocal preferences, or simply what they enjoy singing.
The next question asked about cross-training, “Is this method a way to extend the
longevity of the vocal instrument?” was proposed in Question 24: Over time, are you
finding that you or your students sing better or worse when they learn to cross-train? At
65
Penn State all voice students are encouraged to train in both classical and music theater
styles. Spivey and Barton state “Both genres are inherently dramatic art forms and require
a high degree of vocal conditioning and athleticism to maintain career longevity.”159 One
respondent in our study in answer to another question states, “Cross training
exponentially opens up career opportunities for classical vocalists and ensures longevity
and vocal health for those primarily pursuing careers in genres of contemporary voice.”
Overall, this seems to be the consensus. Many refer to this technique as making their
students stronger in their preferred style. In addition, they also frequently refer to
increased confidence and joy in their craft.
Respondent A: It depends. Better because they have expanded their technique. But if they are in the middle of graduate auditions for classical programs (for example), I think it is possible to lose focus during that time. But overall, I think cross-training is a positive thing. Respondent B: I find that all of my students sing better with cross-training. They find more joy in singing, more expression, more natural breath support, and more freedom physically and vocally. Respondent C: I definitely find that the singers who cross over sing better and better over time. I sense that the ones who focus on one style tend to hit more “plateaus.” They do pass through them... but I find that if an equal-crossover student is maybe plateauing in one style, they are stepping forward in some technical way in the other style. It's a nice consistent give-and-take. Respondent E: Oh, my! Well, as I mentioned before, there will be a temporary period when their chest voice is too “shouty” (early stages of learning to belt) and their head voice is slightly “grabbed” (constricted) because they haven't yet fully learned the effective coordination of all of the systems involved in their genre choice(s): legit/head-dominant muscles and nerves and positions and resonance and VF behaviors versus the whole body set-up of jazz versus the choices in modern pop, and so on. But there is absolutely NO QUESTION that these students can SING THE PANTS OFF their preferred genre(s) *better* than before they were cross-trained. Cross-training leads to intelligent vocal musicians! And yes, for myself,
159 Ibid., 19.
66
there is no question that I am a MUCH better singer since I've been constantly training and learning and singing and teaching in multiple genres Respondent F: I think my singers are far stronger and more flexible because of their cross-training exposure. They are more confident performers, absolutely. The only times my singers sing worse with cross-training is if they don't understand the reasons for it or they haven't fully mastered the technical changes required. But I'm usually so happy to see progress, I focus on that. Respondent G: I find students sing better when they practice their craft. Period. Respondent H: I have found that I sang better and my students sing better after learning to cross-train. The students who successfully cross-train have better awareness of their voices, and also improved confidence as they realize their voice can do things that they didn't think were possible.
The final proposed question is “What constitutes success?” In many ways this has
been answered in the preceding section with responses like: increased vocal freedom,
improvement in opposite styles, more joy and a greater sense of confidence. Other
practical ideas suggested are professional achievements in auditions, awards and
competitions. Others mention getting results, finding new colors and stretching
themselves. These are some of the responses to Question 25, For you and your students
that cross-train, what constitutes success for you and for that student in your estimation?
Respondent A: My students love to prepare a music theater package for NATS auditions in addition to their classical one. A lot of the repertoire, especially the contemporary repertoire, stretches their voices in interesting ways. When they do well in the music theater categories, they experience fulfillment that they were able to successfully sing in more than one style. Respondent B: I think a wonderful guide for “success” in cross-training is getting work or getting noticed through callbacks, etc. for a variety of vocal styles and roles. For instance, if a student gets called back for Johanna in Sweeney Todd (coloratura soprano) as well as Annie Oakley (mezzo-belter) from one summer stock audition, it means that she successfully demonstrated both classical and mix/belt styles of singing to a professional audition panel. My professional obligation is to continue to teach
67
accessible crossover techniques to teachers and students so that the myth that some styles of singing are healthy and some are not is broken forever. Respondent C: Overall, success is achieved when that voice is producing a healthy sound throughout every function asked of it, in whatever style. Respondent D: I have had many Tony award winners, other various awards in the performing field as well as recording artists. Respondent E: I tell them to always seek to be learning and stretching themselves past their comfort zone, but NEVER into physical discomfort of any kind. I prefer to work with active performers, and I’ve set up my studio timeslots and flexibility in order to allow for exactly that. Success for me (and how I feel a student is successful) is when I see/hear that they are singing as efficiently as possible in order to achieve the desired result. This, to me, is long-term success: it's going to keep the vocal athlete as safe as is possible in a world where we will all likely have vocal problems of some sort over our long lifetimes of singing (age-related changes, hormone-related changes, performance- related changes, exhaustion-related changes, etc.). Respondent G: …They come for lessons because they know something could be better -- more powerful voice, different repertoire, something needs to change. Cross-training helps create the change they want to see and hear. People don’t take voice lessons because they want lessons (I’m getting a little Seth Godin here). They take lessons because of what singing does to them and for them. They want the result - the applause, the recognition, the satisfaction, the sense of accomplishment, the endorphin rush. Cross training gets us closer to all of that.
Data Trend 1: After a thorough examination of the data, a few important trends begin to emerge.
First, most agree that cross-training can enable singers to be stronger. The word “health”
or “healthy” and “flexible” in reference to vocal cross-training surfaces multiple times:
Respondent A: The ability to step outside of the classical “bel canto” technique so that the voice is flexible enough to sing any style well. Respondent B: I firmly believe that if a student wants to become a professional vocalist, they must understand the entire vocal color palate available to them and be able toefficiently use each color healthily and flexibly according to style.
68
Cross training is crucial to demystifying an idea that popular singing styles are simply a phenomenon and do not require technique. Cross training exponentially opens up career opportunities for classical vocalists and ensures longevity and vocal health for those primarily pursuing careers in genres of contemporary voice. My professional obligation is to continue to teach accessible crossover techniques to teachers and students so that the myth that some styles of singing are healthy and some are not is broken forever. Respondent C: I consider vocal cross training to be any training of the body, breath, and voice that produces the healthiest, safest, most efficient, most desired sound/effect for the purpose of communicating stories through music, in any genre or style to which the singer relates or for which the singer is cast in a role. Healthy access to both styles helps singers maintain a balanced mechanism while also making the singer more marketable for the increasing “cross-over” demand in the performing industry. The more options a singer can effectively, healthily, and artistically execute, the more avenues that singer has to express themselves through the power of music. Overall, success is achieved when that voice is producing a healthy sound throughout every function asked of it, in whatever style. Respondent D: Training a voice to be flexible and healthy in all styles of music. Stretching the voice to be healthy and flexible. BEING FLEXIBLE! You cannot train in one area of your voice and expect the other areas to be strong. Respondent E: I require it because the voice requires it for optimum flexibility, power, control, beauty, and function. Respondent F: This is only optional for students who expressly say they don't want it -- but that student is rare in my studio. Most singers don't know what's going on, they just know I am asking for a lot of weird sounds in the name of flexibility. And once they get over a little self- consciousness, they usually love feeling how powerful and flexible their voices can be. Respondent H: The voice and body must be free of unnecessary tension in all styles. I teach students to make healthy sounds and then apply these vocal colors to the appropriate style. The voice is stronger and more flexible. Vocal cross training has improved my own voice and awareness.
69
Data Trend 2:
The second trend that emerges in the responses is the idea of marketability, work,
career advancement and hireability as it involves cross-training. The words “marketable”
and “hire-able,” “work,” “career” are used frequently:
Respondent C: Healthy access to both styles helps singers maintain a balanced mechanism while also making the singer more marketable for the increasing “cross-over” demand in the performing industry.” The most obvious practical applications to me are the marketability of the singer. The more styles one can successfully and healthily execute, the more “hire-able” one is. And, in my personal opinion, the happier one is. Respondent F: They want the result - the applause, the recognition, the satisfaction, the sense of accomplishment, the endorphin rush. Cross training gets us closer to all of that. My own obligations are similar: Frequent short classical solo gigs with choirs, and seasonal big singing jobs in community and semi-pro theaters, plus all of my teaching. Cross-Training saves me, too. Respondent H: Students need to strengthen all areas of their voice. In musical theater, performers must be able to sing in multiple styles in order to be marketable. I want my students to experience that too. And to be “hire-able” anywhere. Expansion of the technique and increased career opportunities.
Data Trend 3:
The final trend in the data concerns the skeptical attitude from colleagues on the
subject of vocal cross-training. Frequently among younger teachers, according to
respondents, the idea receives positive responses but among older pedagogues it’s looked
at with great skepticism and at times hostility. One respondent simply avoids the topic
equating it to talking politics. Only one respondent felt completely positive about
teaching cross-training. These are the responses to Question 21: “What are the prevailing
70
attitudes among your colleagues on vocal cross-training? Please give some examples of
what you encounter:”
Respondent A: No one at my school has a problem with it. When I go to NATS events, I notice a distinct generational divide with the younger teachers more on board than the seasoned ones. Respondent B: Out of 8 voice faculty at my university, I have two colleagues who are supportive of cross-training. 6 of my colleagues do not think that musical theatre is a “real” type of vocal music that should be studied and frequently will not allow their students to study musical theatre or sing it for recitals. The negativity surrounding the belt voice is so potent that I have been accused of “ruining voices” because I teach belt (this coming from a tenured professor who has never studied belt technique, watched me teach belt technique, nor heard my students perform musical theatre). Respondent C: It depends on the group of colleagues! In my small university setting, there are primarily three of us on voice faculty. I am the only one who effectively does cross-over. The other two teachers are older than me, have only performed “classical” genres throughout their careers, and have not sought out study or training in CCM. When I arrived on the scene, the department seemed to somewhat frown upon CCM repertoire and wanted me to minimize my teaching of it. However, ALL of the students WANT to do cross-over, so there were a lot of “whisperings” of students trying to “get into my studio” knowing I would help them. I think the other two faculty members are starting to “soften” a bit, as time passes and they recognize the trends outside our tiny, rural college. Another group of colleagues (an online forum of independent studio voice teachers) creates a completely opposite environment, in which MANY members do cross-over training, and the ones who don't do as much are either diving into training for it (through seminars and workshops) or seek input from those of us who actively do it. Respondent D: I don’t like to discuss technique so much with others teachers. It’s a lot like politics. I listen, and find it all interesting to get other points of view, but I like to keep to myself. Respondent E: OMG. Well, amongst the colleagues I gravitate toward, the attitude is positive toward vocal cross- training. Among numerous older colleagues, however, there are quite a few negative feelings. As for the examples I encounter, how about comment sheets for virtually every single NATS event in which I've entered a student? Sigh...
71
Respondent F: Within my online teaching support groups (SVW and SECO) there is a lot of support. In my local NATS chapter there is limited support and a whole lot of good-natured skepticism. I know which teachers are doing it because I hear the results in their students. Overall, when a teacher tells me they only do certain prescribed exercises with students, I know it's because they were taught that way. They don't know any other way. Respondent G: Commercial colleagues are always shocked and impressed that I sing/teach classical music. Older classical colleagues often immediately assume I’m uneducated when they discover I sing/teach commercial music. Respondent H: I’m lucky to have colleagues and mentors who teach cross training and sing/perform in all styles. I am constantly learning from them.
72
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
From monody to the musical drama of Wagner to the invention of the
microphone, voices have adapted to comply with musical advancement and subsequently,
so has vocal pedagogy. As discussed, with the decline of classical music opportunities in
the 21st century, along with a booming expansion in music theater and commercial music,
the voice teaching profession is at a cross-roads. Keeping to the traditions of 18th century
conservatory teaching mires teachers in the past, while embracing the possibilities of
vocal cross-training presents a world of possibilities for the future. There is an
opportunity here that allows for growth in college and university voice programs by
facilitating the retention of traditional students and adding non-traditional ones. With
vocal cross-training there is a chance to teach students to be flexible, healthy and
successful professional singers. Barton and Spivey suggest this, “No style is an island.
Those long-held beliefs that the classical vocal aesthetic is somehow superior to other
styles may no longer be the case. We have long said we want our students to be stronger
and better than we are. They hold the future. It’s a world of possibility.”160
Teachers have a responsibility to their students. This includes giving them all the
tools possible to achieve their goals and reach their dreams, or at the very least teach
skills that will help them make a living in their industry, whether that be in the classical
or commercial realm or both. Vocal cross-training enables healthier singing and creates
160 Spivey and Saunders-Barton, Vocal Cross-Training, 19.
73
more flexible vocal instruments. One of the study’s respondents said it best: “To me
“Cross Training” is just a fashionable name used for really good ALL AROUND vocal
technique. Students should have been taught this from their very first lessons. Not just
“the latest thing” in vocal training!”
74
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Albright, Daniel, ed. Modernism and Music: An Anthology of Sources. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
American Academy of Teachers of Singing. “NATS Visits AATS.” Journal of Singing vol. 65, no. 1 (September/October 2008): 7-10.
Appignanesi, Lisa. The Cabaret. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004. Austin, Stephen F. “Notes on Garcia’s Memoir of the Human Voice.” Journal of Singing
71, no. 3 (2015): 629-632. Bain, Ken. What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 2004. Bartlett, Irene. “Irene Bartlett.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary
Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 1879-2116. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle.
Beeching, Angela Myles. Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music. Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Bolsom, William. Preface: Cabaret Songs, Volume 1 and 2. Milwaukee, WI: Edward B. Marks Company, 1979 & 1985.
Chandler, Kim. “Create Your Vocal ‘Cross Training’ Program.” Voice Council Magazine, February 5, 2014. Website: http://www.voicecouncil.com/create-your-vocal-cross-training-program/.
Chapman, Janice. Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice. San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2006.
Colwell, Richard, and Music Educators National Conference (U.S.). MENC Handbook of Research Methodologies. Oxford University Press, 2006.
DeSilva, Bryan E. “The Current State of CCM Vocal Pedagogy Training at the Graduate Level.” DMA Dissertation, Temple University, Pennsylvania, 2016.
Edwin, Robert. “Bach to Rock Connections: Are We the National Association of Teachers of Classical Singing?” The Journal of Singing vol. 41, no. 5 (May/June 1985): 40.
Edwin, Robert. “Belting: Bel Canto or Bruto Canto?” The Journal of Singing, vol. 59, no. 1 (September/October, 2002): 67-68.
Edwin, Robert. “Contemporary Music Theater: Louder Than Words.” The Journal of Singing vol. 61, no. 3 (January/February, 2005): 291-292.
Edwin, Robert. “Cross Training for the Voice.” The Journal of Singing vol. 65, no. 1, (September/October 2008): 73-76.
Edwin, Robert. “Robert Edwin.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 2130-2304. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle.
75
Estill, Jo. Estill Voice Training: Level Two Figure Combinations for Six Voice Qualities Workbook. Ed. By Mary McDonald Klimek with Kerrie Obert & Kimberley Steinhauer, Estill Voice Training Systems International, LLC, 2005.
Hoit, J., C. Jenks, P. Watson & T. Cleveland. “Respiratory Function During Speaking and Singing in Professional Country Singers.” Journal of Voice, vol. 10, no 1, (1996): 39-49.
Hoch, Matthew and Mary J. Sandage. “Working Toward a Common Vocabulary: Reconciling the Terminology of Teachers of Singing, Voice Scientists, and Speech-Language Pathologists.” Journal of Voice, vol. 31, no. 6 (2017): 647- 648.
Howard, Elisabeth. “Elisabeth Howard.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 2314-2610. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle.
Fleming-DeBerger, Rachelle. “Guidelines and Criteria to Assess Singing and Music Training in Baccalaureate Music Theater Programs.” DMA Dissertation, University of Miami, Florida, 2011.
Green, Lucy. How Popular Musicians Learn: A Way Ahead for Music Education. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2002.
Grout, Donald, and Hermine Williams. A Short History of Opera. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003.
Hall, Karen Sue. “Music Theater Vocal Pedagogy and Styles: An Introductory Teaching Guide for Experienced Classical Singing Teachers.” DMA Dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2006.
Harrison, Scott D. and Jessica O’Bryan. Teaching Singing in the 21st Century. Dordrecht: Springer, 2014.
Harrison, Scott D. Perspectives on Teaching Singing: Australian Vocal Pedagogues Sing Their Stories. Bowen Hills: Australian Academic Press, 2010. ProQuest.
Henderson, W. J. Early History of Singing. New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1921. Helmholtz, Herman. On the Sensation of Tone: As a Physiological Basis for the Theory
of Music. Second ed. translated by Alexander J. Ellis. New York: Dover, 1954. Hoch, Matthew, ed.. So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A
Guide for Performers. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle. Jennings, Colleen Anne. “Belting Is Beautiful: Welcoming The Musical Theater Singer
Into The Classical Voice Studio.” DMA Dissertation, University of Iowa, 2014. Kamenetz, Anya. DIYU: Edupunks, Entrpreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of
Higher Education. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2010.
Kane, Susan. The 21st Century Singer: Making the Leap from the University into the World. New York: Oxford, 2015. Kindle.
Kochis-Jennings, Karen Ann, Eileen M. Finnegan, Henry T. Hoffman and Sanyukta Jaiswal. “Laryngeal Muscle Activity and Vocal Fold Adduction During Chest, Chestmix, Headmix, and Head Registers in Females.” Journal of Voice, vol. 26, no. 2 (March 1, 2012): 182-193. https://www-clinicalkey-com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/#!/content/journal/1-s2.0-S0892199710002195
Koopman, John. “A Brief History of Singing.” Last modified January 1, 1999. https://www2.lawrence.edu/fast/KOOPMAJO/antiquity.html
76
Lader, Joan. “Joan Lader.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 2612-2765. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle.
Lamperti, Giovanni Battista. The Technics of Bel Canto. New York: G. Schirmer 1905. Larkin, Colin. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2009. Latham, Chris. “Limelight.” November 15, 2015.
https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/features/how-the-microphone-transformed-the-music-world/ (accessed February 9, 2019).
Latimerlo, Gina and Lisa Popeil. Sing Anything: Mastering Vocal Styles. Gina Latimelo and Lisa Popeil, c.2012.
LeBorgne, Wendy, and Marci Daniels DeLeo Rosenberg. The Vocal Athlete. San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2014. EBSCO Host.
LoVetri, Jeannette L., Mary Sounders-Barton and Edrie Means Weekly. “A Brief Overview of Approaches to Teaching the Music Theatre Song.” In Teaching Singing in the 21st Century. Edited by Scott D. Harrison and Jessica O’Bryan, 56-66. Dordrecht: Springer, 2014.
LoVetri, Jeannette, “Episode 49: On Belting, Functional Training and Somatic Voicework.” The Naked Vocalist (accessed February 27, 2019), Website https://www.thenakedvocalist.com/podcast/jeanie-lovetri/ .
LoVetri, Jeannette. “Jeannette Lovetri.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 2771-3000. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle.
LoVetri, Jeanette.”Somatic Voicework: The Lovetri Method Level I.” The Voice Workshop NYC. New York: Jeannie Lovetri, 2017.
Meyer, D. “The Future of Collegiate Voice Pedagogy. SWOT Analysis of Current Practice-Implications for the Next Generation of Singers and Teachers of Singing.” 8th International Congress of Voice Teachers, Unpublished Paper Presentation (2013).
Meylan,Mark. “Mark Meylan.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 3002-3218. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle.
Michigan Head and Neck Institute, Accessed April 8, 2019. Website: https://www.michiganheadandneck.com/tmj-throat-tightness/#.XKtwIC-ZNQI
Peckham, Anne. The Contemporary Singer: Elements of Vocal Technique. Boston: Berklee Press, 2000.
Popeil, Lisa. “Lisa Popeil.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 3225-3404. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
Potter, John, and Neil Sorrell. A History of Singing. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Roll, Christianne Krauer. “Female Musical Theater Belting in the 21st Century: A Study of the Pedagogy of the Vocal Practice and Performance.” PhD Dissertation. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 2014.
Sabella, David “David Sabella.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 3407-3683. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
77
Samaras, Stephanie. Stephanie Samaras Bio. Accessed May 29, 2018. www.stephaniesamaras.com/bio.
Saunders, Mark N.K. “Choosing Research Participants.” In Qualitative Organizational Research: Core Methods and Current Challenges. Edited by Gillian Symon and Cartherine Cassell, 39-40. Sage, Los Angeles, 2012.
Saunders-Barton, “Mary Saunders-Barton.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 3869-3994. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle.
Shaw, George Bernard. “How to Become a Music Critic.” In Music in London: 1890-1894. Edited by Dan H. Davis, 99. London: Constable and Company, 1960.
Sliiden, Tommi; Beck, Sara; MacDonald, Ian. “An Evaluation of the Breathing Strategies and Maximum Phonation Time in Musical Theater Performers During Controlled Performance Tasks.” Journal of Voice, vol. 31, no. 2 (March 1, 2017): 253.e1-253.e11.
Spaeth, Sigmund. Popular Music in America. New York: Randon House, 1948. Spivey, Norman and Mary Saunders-Barton. Cross-Training in the Voice Studio: A
Balancing Act. San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2018. Spivey, Norman and Mary Saunders-Barton. “Breakout Session: Cross-Training in the
Voice Studio: A Balancing Act.” National Associate of Teachers of Singing, June 25, 2018 (Accessed February 27, 2019). Website: https://www.nats.org/_A_Balancing_Act.html
Stark, James. Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. Toronto: The University of Toronto Press, 2003.
Steinhauer, Kimberly, and Mary McDonald Klimek. The Estill Voice Model: Theory and Translation. Pittsburgh: Estill Voice International, 2017.
Sundberg, Johan and Margareta Thalén. “Respiratory and Acoustical Differences Between Belt and Neutral Style of Singing.” Journal of Voice, vol. 29, no. 4 (July 1, 2015): 418-425.
Talia, Joseph. A History of Vocal Pedagogy: Intuition and Science. Australian Academic Press, 2017.
Tosi, Pier Francesco. Observations on the Florid Song; or Sentiments on the Ancient and Modern Singers. Translated by J.E. Galliard. London: J. Wilcox, 1743.
Vennard, William, Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic. New York: Carl Fischer, L.L.C., 1967.
Wigley, Sarah. “Crossing Over: Contemporary, Accessible Voice Techniques for Solo and Ensemble Singing.” Illinois Music Educator, vol 79, no. 2 (Winter, 2018): 32-35.
Willis-Lynam, Keyona. “The Cross-Over Opera Singer: Bridging the Gap Between Opera and Musical Theater.” DMA Dissertation, The Ohio State University, 2015.
Zanger Borch, Daniel. “Daniel Zanger Borch.” In So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers. Edited by Matthew Hoch, 3225-3404. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Kindle.
Zanger Borch, Daniel. Ultimate Vocal Voyage: The Definative Method for Unleashing the Rock, Pop or Soul Singer Within You. Notfabriken Music Publishing AB: Bromma, Sweden 2007.
78
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. How long have you sung/performed classical music?
a. 1-5 years
b. 6-10 years
c. 11-15 years
d. more than 15 years
e. N/A
2. How long have you sung/performed CCM (contemporary, commercial music,
including music theater)?
a. 1-5 years
b. 6-10 years
c. 11-15 years
d. more than 15 years
e. N/A
3. What musical styles do you sing/perform? Check all that apply:
a. Jazz
b. Music theater
c. Classical
d. Country
e. Folk
f. Hip-Hop
79
g. Pop
h. Gospel
i. Rock
j. R&B
k. World Music Blues
l. Soul
m. Contemporary Christian
n. Other
4. In the area of voice, what is the highest level of schooling you have completed or
the highest degree you have received?
a. High school
b. Some college but no degree
c. Associate degree
d. Bachelor degree
e. Master’s degree
f. Doctoral degree
5. Is your highest degree in CCM (including Music Theater) or Classical styles?
a. CCM
b. Classical
c. Both
d. Neither
6. How long have you taught classical styles of music?
a. 1-2 years
b. 2-5 years
80
c. 6-10 years
d. 11-15 years
e. More than 15 years
f. N/A
7. How long have you taught CCM/Music Theater styles?
a. 1-2 years
b. 3-5 years
c. 6-10 years
d. 11-15 years
e. More than 15 years
f. N/A
8. What styles of CCM (including music theater) do you teach? Check all that apply:
a. Jazz
b. Music Theater
c. Pop
d. Rock
e. Hip-Hop
f. R&B
g. Gospel
h. Country
i. Folk
j. World Music
k. Soul
l. Contemporary Christian
81
m. Other
9. Where do you teach? Check all that apply:
a. Private University or College
b. Community College
c. High School
d. Community Music School
e. Private studio
f. State University or College
g. Other
10. Are you familiar with the term “vocal cross-training?” Yes or No
11. Do you teach "vocal cross-training?" Yes or No
12. If so, how many students do you have whom you cross-train?
a. 1-2
b. 3-5
c. 6-10
d. 11-15
e. More than 15
13. What are their ages? Check all that apply:
a. Under 18
b. 18-24
c. 25-34
d. 35-44
e. 45-54
f. 55-64
82
g. 65+
14. Is cross-training something that you require or is required of your students, or is it
something you teach upon request?
a. I require it
b. It is required
c. It is optional
d. Other
15. Please define “vocal cross-training” in your own words.
16. If vocal cross-training is something that is required of your students, please describe
the reasons for this approach. If it's something you require or teach optionally, please
describe the reasons for this approach. Be as specific as possible.
17. Are there specific techniques you apply to all styles of singing? If so, what are they?
Are there techniques you teach that are specific to a particular style? If so, what are they?
Please be as specific as you can.
18. Do you have your students sing different styles in each lesson or do you stick to one?
If you teach more than one at a time, what styles do you find easiest to alternate between?
Please explain in detail.
19. What do you see as the benefits of vocal cross- training? Please be specific as to both
the technical and practical applications.
20. What do you see as the negative effects of vocal cross-training? Please be specific as
to both the technical and practical applications.
21. What are the prevailing attitudes among your colleagues on vocal cross-training?
Please give some examples of what you encounter.
83
22. Do you find that your students or you yourself are equally competent in singing more
than one style, or better at one/some than others and to what do you attribute this result?
23. Do you find that your students or you yourself can sing more than one style in a
single audition or performance? If so, what styles can you or your students most
comfortably combine/not comfortably combine?
24. Over time, are you finding that you or your students sing better/worse when they
learn to cross-train? Please add any observations you have.
25. For you and your students that cross-train, what constitutes success for you and for
that student in your estimation? What performance requirements/professional obligations
do you and your students have?
26. What additional information would you like to add to this discussion?
84
APPENDIX B: INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW REPONSES
Respondent A:
Q1 How long have you sung/performed classical music? more than 15years
Q2 How long have you sung/performed CCM (contemporary, commercial music,
including music theater)? more than 15years
Q3 What musical styles do you sing/perform? Check all that apply: Music theater, Other,
Classical
Q4 In the area of voice, what is the highest level of schooling you have completed or the
highest degree you have received? Doctoral degree
Q5 Is your highest degree in CCM (including Music Theater) or Classical styles?
Classical
Q6 How long have you taught classical styles of music? More than 15 years
Q7 How long have you taught CCM/Music Theater styles? 11-15years
Q8 What styles of CCM (including music theater) do you
teach? Check all that apply: Music Theater
Q9 Where do you teach? Check all that apply: State University or College
Q10 Are you familiar with the term “vocal cross-training?” Yes
Q11 Do you teach “vocal cross-training?” Yes
Q12 If so, how many students do you have whom you cross-train? 6-10
Q13 What are their ages? Check all that apply: 18-24
85
Q14 Is cross-training something that you require or is required of your students, or is it
something you teach upon request? It is optional
Q15 Please define “vocal cross-training” in your own words.
The ability to step outside of the classical “bel canto” technique so that the voice is
flexible enough to sing any style well.
Q16 If vocal cross-training is something that is required of your students, please describe
the reasons for this approach. If it's something you require or teach optionally, please
describe the reasons for this approach. Be as specific as possible
I strongly encourage my students to learn to sing in other styles, but it is not required.
Q17 Are there specific techniques you apply to all styles of singing? If so, what are they?
Are there techniques you teach that are specific to a particular style? If so, what are they?
Please be as specific as you can.
Breath and posture. That's about it!
Q18 Do you have your students sing different styles in each lesson or do you stick to
one? If you teach more than one at a time, what styles do you find easiest to alternate
between? Please explain in detail.
I only teach classical and music theater, and we often sing both styles in the same lesson.
Q19 What do you see as the benefits of vocal cross-training? Please be specific as to both
the technical and practical applications.
Expansion of the technique and increased career opportunities.
Q20 What do you see as the negative effects of vocal cross-training? Please be specific as
to both the technical and practical applications. There aren't many, but the repertoire and
language work required to get in to classical graduate school nowadays requires so much
focus that the students I have who want that path first and foremost do have to make
86
some choices.
Q21 What are the prevailing attitudes among your colleagues on vocal cross-training?
Please give some examples of what you encounter.
No one at my school has a problem with it. When I go to NATS events, I notice a distinct
generational divide with the younger teachers more on board than the seasoned ones.
Q22 Do you find that your students or you yourself are equally competent in singing
more than one style, or better at one/some than others and to what do you attribute this
result?
I have found that singers usually have more of a knack for one than the other. Very few
students excel equally at both. I am not exactly sure why, but with women - skillful
command over registration is a big factor.
Q23 Do you find that your students or you yourself can sing more than one style in a
single audition or performance? If so, what styles can you or your students most
comfortably combine/not comfortably combine?
I can only speak for classical and music theater, and they coexist very well on the same
recital program.
Q24 Over time, are you finding that you or your students sing better/worse when they
learn to cross-train? Please add any observations you have.
It depends. Better because they have expanded their technique. But if they are in the
middle of graduate auditions for classical programs (for example), I think it is possible to
lose focus during that time. But overall I think cross-training is a positive thing.
Q25 For you and your students that cross-train, what constitutes success for you and for
that student in your estimation? What performance requirements/professional obligations
do you and your students have?
87
My students love to prepare a music theater package for NATS auditions in addition to
their classical one. A lot of the repertoire, especially the contemporary repertoire,
stretches their voices in interesting ways. When they do well in the music theater
categories, they experience fulfillment that they were able to successfully sing in more
than one style.
Q26 What additional information would you like to add to this discussion?
Just to clarify/add a few more details not mentioned above. Another style that I actively
sing and teach is choral music. I consider choral music to be a style because the demands
placed on the is similar to some unamplified styles: reduced vibrato extent, attenuation of
ring/singer's formant, etc. I find that I have to teach most of my students how to produce
a choral sound in a healthy way. I would also like to add that I currently only teach
unamplified styles due to the particular job description I have at Auburn University.
Currently that means classical and music theater - NATS style, not industry style for the
latter. These are also the only two styles that I perform, plus choral. I answered the
questions above the way I did because you included music theater in CCM. I do,
however, consider myself to be a scholar of CCM with several publications about it.
Respondent B:
Q1 How long have you sung/performed classical music? more than 15years
Q2 How long have you sung/performed CCM (contemporary, commercial music,
including music theater)? more than 15 years
Q3 What musical styles do you sing/perform? Check all that apply: Jazz, Music theater,
Classical
88
Q4 In the area of voice, what is the highest level of schooling you have completed or the
highest degree you have received? Master’s degree
Q5 Is your highest degree in CCM (including Music Theater) or Classical styles?
Classical
Q6 How long have you taught classical styles of music? 11-15 years
Q7 How long have you taught CCM/Music Theater styles? 11-15 years
Q8 What styles of CCM (including music theater) do you teach? Check all that apply:
Jazz, Music, Theater, Pop, Rock, R & B, Gospel, Country, Soul, Hip-Hop, Folk
Q9 Where do you teach? Check all that apply: State University or College
Q10 Are you familiar with the term “vocal cross-training?” Yes
Q11 Do you teach “vocal cross-training?” Yes
Q12 If so, how many students do you have whom you cross-train? More than15
Q13 What are their ages? Check all that apply: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44
Q14 Is cross-training something that you require or is required of your students, or is it
something you teach upon request? I require it
Q15 Please define “vocal cross-training” in your own words.
Vocal cross training is teaching and training the voice to understand the nuance in thinner
(head voice dominant) to thicker (chest-voice dominant) vocal folds, differentiation in
vowel shapes, onset/offset, vibrato, soft-palate use, and twang according to style and
context.
Q16 If vocal cross-training is something that is required of your students, please describe
the reasons for this approach. If it's something you require or teach optionally, please
describe the reasons for this approach. Be as specific as possible.
I firmly believe that if a student wants to become a professional vocalist, they must
89
understand the entire vocal color palate available to them and be able to efficiently use
each color healthily and flexibly according to style. The female belt voice is just as
informed by the spin and release of the “classical” head voice as the classical voice is
informed from the support and intensity of the belt voice's “call.” Cross-training allows
each student to know how much nuance is available to them given different technical
elements of the voice slightly changing. Cross training is crucial to demystifying an idea
that popular singing styles are simply a phenomenon and do not require technique. Cross
training exponentially opens up career opportunities for classical vocalists and ensures
longevity and vocal health for those primarily pursuing careers in genres of contemporary
voice.
Q17 Are there specific techniques you apply to all styles of singing? If so, what are they?
Are there techniques you teach that are specific to a particular style? If so, what are they?
Please be as specific as you can.
I teach optimal support and an engaged, energized body free from tension regardless of
style. However, I only use tall vowels, appoggio breathing, and optimal use of soft palate
when teaching classical singing technique. I also only use “twang,” a higher (mid) breath,
speech-like vowels, and thicker-fold use for teaching contemporary voice techniques.
Q18 Do you have your students sing different styles in each lesson or do you stick to
one? If you teach more than one at a time, what styles do you find easiest to alternate
between? Please explain in detail.
Each lesson, I have my students sing in both a classical style and a musical
theatre/pop/rock style to optimally cross-train vocal flexibility and awareness. I find it is
easiest to alternate between classical voice and mix voice technique (this would be akin
to teaching a Mozart aria and then immediately teaching an Alan Menken song found in
90
a Disney musical).
Q19 What do you see as the benefits of vocal cross-training? Please be specific as to both
the technical and practical applications.
I find that students are more musically and vocally expressive, more aware of under/over
supporting, increasingly aware of laryngeal placement and if they are pushing their voice
with too much subglottal pressure or weight in the folds in either style (classic or
contemporary).
Q20 What do you see as the negative effects of vocal cross-training? Please be specific as
to both the technical and practical applications.
The only negative effects I have witnessed in my 10 years of professionally cross training
singers at the university level, I have witnessed nothing but positive results with the
exception of a lack of time to devote to both classical and contemporary repertoire. The
most difficult aspect of cross-training vocalists is to assist them in how to effectively
practice the vastly diverse repertoire they are learning and committing to understanding
technically.
Q21 What are the prevailing attitudes among your colleagues on vocal cross-training?
Please give some examples of what you encounter.
Out of 8 voice faculty at my university, I have two colleagues who are supportive of
cross-training. 6 of my colleagues do not think that musical theatre is a “real” type of
vocal music that should be studied and frequently will not allow their students to study
musical theatre or sing it for recitals. The negativity surrounding the belt voice is so
potent that I have been accused of “ruining voices” because I teach belt (this coming
from a tenured professor who has never studied belt technique, watched me teach belt
technique, nor heard my students perform musical theatre).
91
Q22 Do you find that your students or you yourself are equally competent in singing
more than one style, or better at one/some than others and to what do you attribute this
result?
Yes, I find that each of my students (myself included) have an “attractor state” where we
feel most comfortable singing. I attribute this to what style of singing we begin with and
what type of teaching we have predominantly received up to the point we begin cross-
training.
Q23 Do you find that your students or you yourself can sing more than one style in a
single audition or performance? If so, what styles can you or your students most
comfortably combine/not comfortably combine?
Yes, all of my students (myself included) can sing more than one style in a single
audition or performance. My students can and do often combine classical and musical
theatre styles within one performance or audition. I find that the most difficult
combination is with a heavier fold placement (gospel/jazz/soul) into or out of a classical
singing placement that demands a thinner fold and much more soft- palate space.
Q24 Over time, are you finding that you or your students sing better/worse when they
learn to cross-train? Please add any observations you have.
I find that all of my students sing better with cross-training. They find more joy in
singing, more expression, more natural breath support, and more freedom physically and
vocally.
Q25 For you and your students that cross-train, what constitutes success for you and for
that student in your estimation? What performance requirements/professional obligations
do you and your students have?
I think a wonderful guide for “success” in cross-training is getting work or getting
92
noticed through callbacks, etc. for a variety of vocal styles and roles. For instance, if a
student gets called back for Johanna in Sweeney Todd (coloratura soprano) as well as
Annie Oakley (mezzo-belter) from one summer stock audition, it means that she
successfully demonstrated both classical and mix/belt styles of singing to a professional
audition panel. My professional obligation is to continue to teach accessible crossover
techniques to teachers and students so that the myth that some styles of singing are
healthy and some are not is broken forever.
Q26 What additional information would you like to add to this discussion?
You can just as easily get vocal nodules from singing opera as you can from singing
“Spring Awakening” or “Legally Blonde.” Vocal health is possible regardless of style
and each of us has every imaginable vocal style accessible to us if we simply keep an
open mind and find an excellent teacher.
Respondent C:
Q1 How long have you sung/performed classical music? more than 15 years
Q2 How long have you sung/performed CCM (contemporary, commercial music,
including music theater)? more than 15years
Q3 What musical styles do you sing/perform? Check all that apply:
Jazz, Music theater, Country, Rock, Pop, Blues, Classical, Folk
Q4 In the area of voice, what is the highest level of schooling you have completed or the
highest degree you have received? Master’s degree
Q5 Is your highest degree in CCM (including Music Theater) or Classical styles?
Classical
Q6 How long have you taught classical styles of music? More than 15 years
93
Q7 How long have you taught CCM/Music Theater styles? More than 15 years
Q8 What styles of CCM (including music theater) do you teach? Check all that apply:
Pop, Rock, Folk, Jazz, Music Theater
Q9 Where do you teach? Check all that apply: Private studio, State University or College
Q10 Are you familiar with the term “vocal cross-training?” Yes
Q11 Do you teach “vocal cross-training?” Yes
Q12 If so, how many students do you have whom you cross-train? More than 15
Q13 What are their ages? Check all that apply: Under 18, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-
64, 65+
Q14 Is cross-training something that you require or is required of your students, or is it
something you teach upon request? It is optional
Q15 Please define “vocal cross-training” in your own words.
I consider vocal cross training to be any training of the body, breath, and voice that
produces the healthiest, safest, most efficient, most desired sound/effect for the purpose
of communicating stories through music, in any genre or style to which the singer relates
or for which the singer is cast in a role.
Q16 If vocal cross-training is something that is required of your students, please describe
the reasons for this approach. If it's something you require or teach optionally, please
describe the reasons for this approach. Be as specific as possible.
There are exponential benefits to training styles that represent both “classical” and
“CCM” styles. Healthy access to both styles helps singers maintain a balanced
mechanism while also making the singer more marketable for the increasing “cross-over”
demand in the performing industry. There are both similarities and differences in vocal /
94
breathing production in all aspects of all styles. The more options a singer can effectively,
healthily, and artistically execute, the more avenues that singer has to express themselves,
through the power of music.
Q17 Are there specific techniques you apply to all styles of singing? If so, what are they?
Are there techniques you teach that are specific to a particular style? If so, what are they?
Please be as specific as you can.
Most of my technical instruction applies to all styles of singing. The instrument and many
of the basic mechanics (intrinsic laryngeal coordinative processes, etc.) are the same
when one seeks to master fundamentals like clarity, flexibility, dynamics, range,
registration isolation and amalgamation, etc. The specific exercises I use to approach
those aspects are quite universal in my teaching style and application. I would say that
some of the “differences” come in to play when, of course, working toward a
preferred/expected tone quality for specific styles. For example, if a student is
“swallowing” their sound and wishes to excel in musical theater, I begin the process of
bringing the direction of the sound more forward, providing directives that guide
resonance to the front of the face, etc. This may be done with language about
“placement,” vowel specification, etc. If a student carries their sound very forward
(overly bright) and wishes to excel in “classical” style, we tend to work on providing
more resonance space and slightly redirecting the path of resonance, and we may address
vowel specification as well, as it pertains to overtone expectations in classical singing.
All of my students use all vocal registrations (and all various percentages of “blend/mix”)
in all styles. In some cases, when teaching a classical piece, a very thin- voiced soprano
may be encouraged to increase thyro-arytenoid use toward the bottom of the treble staff,
while maintaining enough space to create a “warm classical” sound, whereas, a heavier-
95
voiced student who is naturally overly-dominant in their thyro-arytenoid use may be
encouraged to provide more mix/blend toward the bottom of the treble staff to maintain a
better spin / shimmer there. Every single student is completely different. I don't assign
anyone exercises or technique across the board. I assess every individual, listen carefully
to the sound, assess strengths and weaknesses, determine the function creating that sound,
and begin the process of isolating and working on weaker muscle groups to bring them
into balance with stronger ones. That is key to building a foundation upon which we can
nuance other aspects to achieve appropriate “style.”
Q18 Do you have your students sing different styles in each lesson or do you stick to
one? If you teach more than one at a time, what styles do you find easiest to alternate
between? Please explain in detail.
All depends on what is coming up most immediate for the student. We work on technique
and repertoire based on upcoming roles, recitals, auditions, etc. If there is nothing
immediately pending, then we address any imbalances that may exist. If I know I will be
working the student on, for example, a rigorous Mozart aria AND a major musical theater
belt piece, I sometimes ask the student which piece they'd like to do first. Then, I warm
them up by covering ALL technical aspects (checking extremes of the range, flexibility
with melismatic passages, ascending and descending phrases while alternating use of
dynamic changes, AND registration switches. I “check-in” with every function of the
voice that may be covered in both pieces. And I may spend slightly more time on a
particular function that is challenging or new for the student... as a technique reminder.
When doing this, alternation between styles is no issue. In my own performances, I
sometimes bounce between jazz, blues, pop, rock, musical theater, and even art song /
opera. I've been doing so successfully for years (based on good training from my own
96
teacher), so I happily pass that on to my students. But truly, my most poignant offering
here is that every single voice is different. I address the mechanics of
whatever/whomever is standing in front of me. I never white-wash the studio with one or
two “methods.” That would be only a service to the few for whom that method is
effective, and a disservice to all the others.
Q19 What do you see as the benefits of vocal cross-training? Please be specific as to both
the technical and practical applications.
There are so many benefits to teaching all styles. It would be a dissertation unto itself!
The most obvious practical applications to me are the marketability of the singer. The
more styles one can successfully and healthily execute, the more “hire-able” one is. And,
in my personal opinion, the happier one is. When I bring a crowd to its feet singing
Janice Joplin's “Bobby McGee” and follow it up with “Habanera” accompanied by my
guitarist, the crowd goes more wild, and it's an exhilarating feeling to execute both, at a
professional level, back to back. I want my students to experience that too. And to be
“hire-able” anywhere. With regard to technique, switching back and forth amid the wide
spectrum of styles keeps everything in balance. To over-simplify, whipping through a
few “operatic” scales and arpeggios near and above the staff each day keeps my CTs
strong and my vocal folds flexible. Rattling down in low chest-voice with fun slides or
sustains in the C3 - C4 area keeps my TAs strong. But approaching CT strengthening
from BOTH training “styles” is also beneficial. For example, regarding CTs... one can
obviously work through exercises at the top of the staff and well above it in order to keep
flexing the CTs to allow the thyroid/cricoid relationship to change to keep stretching the
ligament for higher frequencies. But the CTs can also be “worked” by belting...
maintaining TA mass in the folds while increasing pitch toward the passaggio area. Each
97
option works the CTs in slightly different manners (different forms of resistance to the
“flexing”). I also love doing (and teaching) the “numbers” exercise where I may ask a
student to begin around A4 and sing one vowel on pitches 5-4-3-2-1. But I dictate
performance market place appears to be comprised of classical singers while the
remaining 95.5% is comprised of contemporary commercial music styles.”164
Even for the music theater singer, the ability to cross genres has become imperative.
According to Edrie Means Weekly, “It is important to understand that current musical
theatre productions may encompass blues, country, jazz, rock and even rap all in one
show.”165 Obviously, the need for cross-training exists. The growing consensus is that
teachers of classical voice must learn to accommodate this demand as well. For those
instructors trained in the typical conservatory environment, it is a difficult bridge to cross
and for others, perhaps an insurmountable one. Where does one begin? Is cross-training
possible and can students be successful doing it? Referring to many classically trained
teachers, Robert Edwin states, “Their mantra is, ‘If you learn to sing classically, you can
sing anything, which is equivalent to a tennis instructor saying, if you learn to play tennis,
you can play any sport.’”166 This attitude has slowly changed, so it is time to take the
training a step further to include all styles at once. Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders
Barton suggest that “Looking forward, teachers will feel seriously handicapped if they
lack competency in vernacular techniques and only the rare voice studio will be genre
specific. Let us bid a fond farewell to the antiquated definition of ‘crossover singing’ and
embrace cross training for the next generation of singing actors.”167
164 D. Meyer, “The Future of Collegiate Voice Pedagogy: SWOT Analysis of Current Practice-
Implications for the Next Generation of Singers and Teachers of Singing,” 8th International Congress of Voice Teachers (Unpublished Paper Presentation, 2013).
5 Jeannette L. LoVetri, Mary Sounders-Barton and Edrie Means Weekly, “A Brief Overview of Approaches to Teaching the Music Theatre Song,” in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century, ed. By Scott D. Harrison and Jessica O’Bryan (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014), 56.
166 Robert Edwin, “Contemporary Music Theater: Louder Than Words,” Journal of Singing, vol. 61, no. 3 (2005): 291-292.
167 Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders-Barton, Cross-Training in the Voice Studio: A Balancing Act (San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2018), 30.
125
The lack of progress in developing multifaceted vocalists has major ramifications
Lucy Green says that in 1997 over 90 percent of global sales of music recordings
consisted of popular music, including traditional forms such as folk and blues, with
classical music making up only 3 or 4 percent.168 Opportunities for classical singers are
dwindling and opera companies have increasingly added music theater to their
performance schedules. In order to continue fostering music education through higher
learning, a different type of vocalist must be embraced. Curriculum and pedagogy
eventually will also have to adjust to teach this non-traditional student. The vast majority
of college music programs in the United States exclude these types of musicians.
Increasing music school enrollment and preparing our students to make a living can only
be accomplished by altering conventional ways of thinking and by developing new
university curriculum and teaching methods to include them.169
Additional research is needed to understand the plausibility and effectiveness of
vocal cross-training. If proven effective, it can help increase college enrollment, give
singers greater marketability and increase the longevity of the vocal instrument. It is the
aim of this document to explore and expound upon specific aspects of current research.
Is vocal cross-training healthy for the singer? If so, what methods offer the most effective
approach? What, if any, are the limitations?
Preliminary Studies
There are a number of books and articles dealing with the history of vocal
pedagogy. J. Stark author of Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy follows the history
168 Lucy Green, How Popular Musicians Learn A Way Ahead for Music Education (Burlington:
Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2002), 15. 169 D. Meyer, “The Future of Collegiate,” 2013.
126
of vocal teaching from the bel canto tradition in the late sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries to modern times. His book guides readers through the huge amount of scholarly
work on the subject of classical singing styles.170 J. Potter and N. Sorrell in A History of
Singing have assembled a guide on the development of singing, more specifically, the
growth of opera and changes to vocal production brought about in the early twentieth
century with the development of amplification and sound recording171 Additionally, J.
Chapman explores the advances in voice science in her book Singing and Teaching
Singing.172
Since the late 1990's, publications on the pedagogy of contemporary commercial
music have been growing in number and a consensus of data has begun to emerge. A very
recent book has been published citing prevailing pedagogy and examining the teaching
methods of twelve prominent scholars of CCM, collected by Matthew Hoch, So You
Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for Performers.173 Scott
D. Harrison and Jessica OBryan compile essays from a variety of different vocal
pedagogues exploring CCM, extra-normal voices, approach to style and the future of
vocal training in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century.174 A third work from Australia
edited by Scott Harrison has essays on a variety of current pedagogical viewpoints,
including training the music theater singer and many other styles of CCM singers called
170 James Stark, Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy (Toronto: The University of Toronto
Press, 2003). 171 John Potter & Neil Sorrell, A History of Singing (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2012). 172 Janice Chapman, Singing and Teaching Singing (San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2006). 173 Matthew Hoch, So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music): A Guide for
Performers, edited by Matthew Hoch (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). 174 Scott D. Harrison and Jessica O’Bryan, Teaching Singing in the 21st Century (Dordrecht:
Springer, 2014).
127
Perspectives on Teaching Singing: Australian Vocal Pedagogues Sing Their Stories.175
Both Joe Estill and Jeanette LoVetri have published numerous articles on vocal pedagogy
covering multiple styles.176 Finally, a new book has just been published by Pennsylvania
State University faculty members Norman Spivey and Mary Saunders Barton addressing
the methods and success of vocal cross-training in music theater and classical styles:
Cross-Training in the Voice Studio: A Balancing Act seems to be the first of its kind.
Research Design And Methods And Data Analysis
Recruitment will occur digitally through email correspondence. Surveys/Instruments and
devices will include written interviews gathered using the online data survey site Survey
Monkey. The data collected will be a qualitative study comparing similar questions and
the resulting answers of master vocal pedagogues in classical and contemporary
commercial music. From the data we will be able to evaluate and contrast responses that
will contribute to the limited current knowledge of vocal cross-training. Specifically, the
data will ascertain the prevalence of the practice, the prevailing attitudes, methods used,
as well as student successes and struggles observed by teachers of vocal cross-training.
The data collected will be limited to a small sampling of expert pedagogues. A broader,
less complex survey could be used to gather data but would be limited by its sampling of
potentially inexperienced respondents with little knowledge teaching alternate vocal
styles, thus contributing fewer specific answers and more general data.
The survey/written interview will be conducted over a two-month period, starting mid-
175 Scott D. Harrison, Perspectives on Teaching Singing: Australian Vocal Pedagogues Sing Their
Stories (Bowen Hills: Australian Academic Press, 2010). 176 Jeannette L. LoVetri, “A Brief Overview of Approaches to Teaching the Music Theatre Song,”
in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century, ed. by J. O. Scott and D. Harrison (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014), 56.
128
February 2019 and concluding mid-April 2019. The data will then be disseminated and
added to the researchers document.
Protection Of Human Subjects
Target Population:
Interviews will be distributed to professional pedagogues teaching in music schools and
conservatories in the United States. These individuals are professionals from 35 to 70
years of age, both male and female and of different races and backgrounds. There will be
6-8 interviews in all, encompassing teachers that work with students on varying styles,
some predominantly classical, some predominantly commercial, but all involving vocal
cross-training. By evaluating other works on vocal studies, it was determined this number
of interviews is standard for the data collection needed.
Recruitment Plans:
Recruiting will be achieved through email correspondence and phone calls to various
experts in the field, ascertaining their interest in participating in a written interview.
Existing Data/Samples:
There are no plans to utilize existing data or samples.
Consent/Assent:
Potential participants will receive emails asking for consent to answer anonymously, a
written list of interview questions.
Potential Risks:
No potential risks will be incurred by participants as no identifying data are collected
other than basic demographics and data collection is conducted in the privacy of an office
further minimizing the risk of loss of privacy.
129
Potential Benefits:
The current formal academic environment for singers is primarily the classical music
conservatory setting that has been existence since the 1800s. In order for this
environment to change, the efficacy of vocal cross-training must be examined. This
research will attempt to discover clear evidence of the value of vocal cross-training and
advocate a place for the use of the associated techniques in music school vocal programs.
Possible benefits for students include an opportunity to learn new skills that will enhance
performing ability and potential access to more effective and lucrative careers.
Confidentiality:
Each participant will be given a letter i.e. “A”, “B”, “C” to identify them. This will be
kept confident by the investigator. The data will be collected by Survey Monkey, stored
in a password protected sight and disseminated in the University of South Carolina’s
secure email server which is password protected by the investigator. The data will be
analyzed and used in the investigators Doctorate of Musical Arts dissertation, with only
the identifying letter used to label each participant.
Compensation:
Participants will not be compensated in any way for their participation
Withdrawal:
Upon request to participate in the interview process, subjects will be notified in writing of
their ability to withdraw at any time during the process without any negative effects. As
there is no compensation offered, withdrawal in simple and straight forward.
130
APPENDIX D: IRB LETTER OF INVITATION
Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Lara Wilson and I am a doctoral candidate in the Music Department
of the University of South Carolina. I am conducing a research study as part of the
requirements of my degree in Vocal Performance and would like to invite you to
participate.
I am studying vocal cross-training. If you decide to participate, you will be asked
to participate in a written interview process.
In particular, you will be asked about your understanding of vocal cross-training, your
experience teaching vocal cross-training, the methods used and the effects of this
teaching on your students. You do not have to answer any questions that you’re
uncomfortable answering. The anonymous interview will be administered via
SurveyMonkey and performed at your own discretion. It will be reviewed by myself, the
sole investigator.
Participation is confidential. Study information will be kept in a secure location at
the University of South Carolina. Results of the study may be published or presented at
professional meetings, but your identity will not be revealed.
We will be happy to answer any questions you have about the study. You may contact
me at (843) 450-0520 or at [email protected]. You may also contact my faculty
Please respond to this email as to your desire to participate. I will then send a
separate email with a link to the interview. Please be as detailed as you can with your
responses, as this will help to better further our research. The interview should not take
more than 45 minutes to an hour to complete. Thank you very much for your
consideration.
With kind regards
Lara Wilson
132
APPENDIX E: DMA VOCAL RECITALS
University of South Carolina
Doctoral Lecture Recital
Friday, October 27, 2017• 6:00 • Recital Hall
Cabaret: Blurring the Lines Between Classical and Popular Forms
Brettl- Lieder (Cabaret Songs) Arnold Schoenberg Galathea (1874-1951) Der Genügsame Mahnung Cabaret Songs William Bolcom Song of Black Max (b.1938)
Waitin’ Amor Oh Close the Curtain
One Touch of Venus Kurt Weill Speak Low (1900-1950) Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny Alabama Song One Touch of Venus That’s Him Songs Sung and or Composed La Vie en rose Edith Piaf (1915-1963) Milord Marguerite Monnot (1903-1961)
Ms. Wilson is a student of Jacob Will. This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
133
University of South Carolina
Doctoral Recital
Friday, April 20, 2018 • 7:30 • Recital Hall
A Charm of Lullabies Benjamin Britten A Cradle Song (1913-1976) The Highland Balou Sephestia’s Lullaby A Charm The Nurse’s Song Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques Maurice Ravel Chanson de la mariée (1875-1937) Lå-bas, vers l’église Quel galant m’est comparable Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques Tout gai! Folk Songs Arranged Jake Heggie He’s Gone Away (b.1961) Barb’ry Allen Away in a Manger The Leather-Winged Bat Danny Boy El Amor Brujo Manuel de Falla Canción del amor dolido (1876-1946) Canción del fuego fatuo Danza del juego de amor Final. Les campanas del amanecer Siete canciones populares españolas Manuel de Falla 5. Nana (1876-1946) 7. Polo
Ms. Wilson is a student of Jacob Will. This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
134
University of South Carolina
Lara Wilson, mezzo
Sabrina Raber, flute
Ben Haimann, percussion
Ying Liao, cello
In Doctoral Recital
Friday, October 5, 2018 • 6:00 • Recital Hall
Five Songs for Voice and Marimba: Emily Dickinson Lynn Glassock It Sifts from Leaden Sieves (b. 1946) A Murmur The Sun Kept Setting Two Butterflies The Summer Lapsed Away Evenstar Nathan Daughtrey (b. 1975) Zwei Gesänge, Op. 91 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) The Deepest Desire: Four Meditations on Love Jake Heggie More is Required / Love (b.1961) I Catch on Fire The Deepest Desire Primary Colors
Ms. Wilson is a student of Jacob Will. This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
135
University of South Carolina
Doctoral Recital
Friday, April 5, 2019 • 6:00 • Recital Hall
Nisi Dominus Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour from Tales of Hoffman Jacques Offenbach
(1819-1880) Tori Woodcock - Soprano
Ziguenerlieder (Gypsy Songs) Johannes Brahms Opus 103 (1833-1897) Carmen Suite Georges Bizet En vain pour éviter (1838-1875) Habanera Seguidilla
University of South Carolina Guitar Ensemble
Ms. Wilson is a student of Jacob Will. This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
